Eater of Souls
by cheri1
Summary: 10Rose. The Doctor and Rose land in ancient Egypt and find themselves chasing an ancient demon that preys upon the sins of man. FINISHED.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Oh Gods, help me."

Femi gasped for air, as she ran through the desert. Behind her, she could hear the growls and snarls of the demon, as it closed in on her.

"Mother Isis, protect me!" she screamed.

She collapsed into the sand, as her legs finally gave out. Gasping, she reached inside her dress and pulled out the Isis knot amulet that hung around her neck.

"Great Isis, protect me from this demon. Take pity on me," she pleaded.

Her eyes widened, as she heard heavy breathing as the demon came closer and closer. Squeezing her eyes shut, she silently prayed repeatedly to Isis for deliverance, as the breathing grew louder and louder. Opening her eyes, she looked over and saw with horror that the beast was right beside her.

"Please, spare my life." She begged. "I don't know what I'm being accused of. I have done nothing. I have not sinned against the gods. Please, have mercy on me."

She fell to her knees, as the demon advanced.

"Whatever I have done, I will atone for it. Please I have a family. I don't want to die. Please take pity on me. Don't…"

Femi's eyes widened in terror, as the demon let out a roar. For a few moments, the sound of screams echoed across the Egyptian desert before the night fell silent again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Doctor grinned, as he opened the TARDIS door.

"Beautiful," he murmured.

He looked back over his shoulder.

"Rose. Come outside and see this," he said.

He opened the door wider and gestured around the side of the TARDIS, as Rose stepped past him.

Rose turned and gasped, as she saw the great pyramids rising before her. The Doctor grinned when Rose's jaw fell open.

"It's gorgeous," she said in hushed tones.

"Thought you might like it," he said. "There's nothing like seeing the great pyramids. In their original condition too. The original limestone facing they had makes them glitter in the sunlight."

Rose nodded. As her eyes became adjusted to the sun, she suddenly frowned as she noticed something.

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Did the ancient Egyptians have trains?"

The Doctor frowned.

"Trains? As in locomotives?"

"Yeah."

"Um...no, not to my knowledge."

"Then, why is one sitting out in the desert?"

The Doctor's eyes widened.

"What?" he muttered, as he stepped around the side of the TARDIS.

His eyes widened, as he looked where Rose was pointing. Sitting between two of the pyramids was a 19th century locomotive. The Doctor rubbed his eyes.

"It's not a mirage. I've already tried that." Rose said.

"What in bloody Hell is a train doing sitting in the middle of the Egyptian desert?" the Doctor muttered to himself.

He shook his head.

"It has to be some kind of illusion. There is no way a steam locomotive could be in ancient Egypt. I..."

"DOC!"

The Doctor and Rose spun around at the sound of someone yelling. They stared in disbelief at a teenaged boy who was running frantically up a dune and straight towards them.

"DOOOOOOOOC!" The boy bellowed, at the top of his lungs.

The Doctor glanced at Rose and then stepped in the boy's path.

"Yes?" he said to him.

The boy stopped short and stared at him and Rose.

"Huh?" he asked him.

"I'm the Doctor. What do you want?"

The boy glared at him.

"Not you." he said, angrily.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, as the boy ran past him towards the locomotive.

"Doc! I'm here! Open the door!" he screamed.

The Doctor and Rose watched, as a door in the side of the locomotive opened up and an elderly man held his hand out. Behind the man, they could see a younger woman with long black hair, two young children, and a dog.

"Did you get it, Marty?" the older man yelled.

"Yeah, I did!" Marty said, holding a scroll out to him."Next time you wanna try parking a little closer to the library though? I barely got past the guards."

"I couldn't risk it, Marty. I can't park this train right in the middle of Giza. I'm taking a huge risk parking it here. Now get in and let's get going."

"You don't have to tell me twice, Doc." Marty said, as he scrambled aboard.

The Doctor and Rose watched, as Doc looked their way and grabbed Marty by the shoulder.

"Who's that?" they heard him say, as he pointed at them.

Marty looked back and shrugged.

"Search me. The guy's a doctor I guess. He stopped me when I was calling for you and told me he was one."

"Oh! A fellow doctor. How nice," he replied, smiling

The Doctor and Rose glanced at each other, as Doc waved at them.

"Hey, do you need a lift?" Doc called to them.

"A lift where? They're in a bleedin' train." Rose muttered to the Doctor.

"Um...no, we're fine, thanks," the Doctor called back.

Doc nodded.

"Okay, we'll have a good day then, whoever you are," he said cheerfully.

The Doctor and Rose nodded dumbly.

"Doc, can we get going? Those guards might still be following me," they heard Marty say.

"Oh yes, well, get buckled in everyone. Next stop, home," Doc replied.

The Doctor and Rose stared at each other, as Doc gave them one last wave and shut the door.

"Where are they gonna go in that thing?" Rose asked the Doctor. "They're in the middle of the des..."

They jerked their heads around when they heard the locomotive start up. Their mouths fell open, as a pair of red sails opened up on the side of the engine, and it rose up into the air tucking its wheels underneath it.

Stunned, they watched as the engine flew up into the air and gradually picked up speed. Their eyes bulged as halfway up the locomotive was surrounded by lightning flashes and with an enormous sonic boom disappeared before their eyes leaving behind a pair of fire trails blazing in the sky.

The Doctor and Rose stood for a moment in silence, as the fire trail slowly burnt out above them.

"Well, there's something you don't see everyday," the Doctor finally said.

"What do you think it was?" Rose asked.

"Um, in my professional opinion...I think it was a flying train filled with people and animals that just disintegrated in a explosion of lighting and fire. Of course, I could be mistaken," he said.

"Do you think they were aliens?" Rose asked.

"Maybe. Although why aliens would want to use a flying train from the 1800's to get around is beyond me. Still, I've seen stranger things. Anyway, let's get going. I just thought you would love to see the pyramids in pristine condition."

"I do. they're beautiful. Thank you so much for bringing me here."

The Doctor smiled.

"Well, let's get back in the TARDIS and figure out where to go next," he said. "I hear the northern lights on Frigidaria are lovely. Would you like to see that?"

"Certainly."

"Well, then, let's get a move on."

They turned around and gasped when they saw a line of soldiers pointing their spears at them.

"Oh hello, you must be the guards that young chap was talking about," the Doctor said to them as he and Rose raised their arms." I'm so sorry but you just missed him. He just got in a flying train and vaporized mid-air. So, I guess you blokes can go back to wherever it was you came from. I..."

"Where is the scroll of Thoth?" a guard demanded.

"I'm sorry, what?" the Doctor asked.

"The scroll of Thoth, thief! Where is it, and the boy who stole it for you?"

"Oh so that's what that was that he handed to the old guy!" the Doctor muttered to Rose.

He smiled at the guards.

"Um...sorry, we had nothing to do with that. We've never seen that boy before, have we?" he said, looking at Rose.

"Nope, I have no idea who he was," Rose said.

"So you see," the Doctor said, turning his attention back to the guards. "We don't know who that kid was, or why he was stealing your scroll of Thoth for the old man, but if I were you, I would give up and go home because unless I'm mistaken, the boy and the scroll are now floating around as atoms in the air. So, you know, go get some of those scribes to make you a new copy. I'm sure one of them will be happy to do it. Now if you'll excuse me, my associate and I have to get going."

"Stay right where you are!"

The Doctor sighed.

"Blast, I was hoping that would work," he muttered.

He rolled his eyes when the guards thrust their spears closer.

"Well, I guess the trip to Frigidaria will have to wait until we get this sorted out," he said to Rose.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Rose coughed when the chariot she was riding in kicked up sand from the desert floor. Beside her was the Doctor and all around them the other guards rode in formation to prevent them from escaping.

The Doctor looked down at Rose when she let out another hacking cough. He reached inside his jacket and brought out a handkerchief for her.

"Thanks," Rose said.

She put it over her mouth, and nose, and looked up at the Doctor.

"Aren't you gonna cover your face?" she asked.

"Nah, I'm fine. Dust doesn't bother me."

Rose nodded and looked ahead. The Doctor glanced at her and when he was sure she wasn't looking, he turned his head and let out two quick coughs.

"I hope the TARDIS will be alright," Rose said, looking up at him.

"It will. I had the presence of mind to lock the door when I came out. I'm glad I did. Besides, hopefully, we'll get all this mess straightened out and be on our way in no time."

"Yeah, famous last words," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

They looked over, as they approached the city of Giza.

"Well, I guess you're going to see more of ancient Egypt than I originally planned," he said.

"Well, at least we're gonna be dealing with other humans while we're here," Rose replied.

The Doctor glanced at her.

"And that's a comforting thought because…"

Rose grimaced.

"Good point," she said.

The Doctor put a comforting arm around Rose when they entered the city and began to pass down the narrow alleyways towards the governor's palace. He had dealt with ancient Egyptians before. He knew how warlike and superstitious they were. He knew a wrong move could result in injury or death for both of them. He didn't care if anything happened to him; he had lived a long life. But, if anyone tried anything with Rose…

The Doctor and Rose gripped the sides of the chariot, as the soldier suddenly stopped short. Behind them, they could hear the whinnying of the horses, and the angry shouts of the other soldiers.

"Soldier! What is the meaning of this? I gave no orders to stop!" the soldier behind them called out.

The soldier looked behind him, as he pointed at the man in front of his chariot.

"He jumped out in front of me, captain," he said.

"You there!" the captain yelled. "We're on official business for the governor. Clear the way or suffer the consequences."

The man fell to his knees and prostrated himself.

"Forgive me. I mean no disrespect, sir," the man said. "My name is Ahmose. I…"

"I do not care who you are. Get out of our way," the captain said.

"Let him speak," the Doctor said.

The captain's eyes opened wide.

"You dare to address me, prisoner?" he spat out.

"Yeah, I do. The man is obviously in great distress and put himself in great physical danger jumping out in front of a group of moving chariots. He deserves to be heard."

The captain's jaw dropped while the Doctor stared at him defiantly. Around him, the other soldiers snickered.

"Silence!" the captain said to the others, when he finally found his voice.

He glared at the Doctor.

"I will see you thrown to the lions for your insolence," he said to him.

The Doctor shrugged.

"Do what you like. I've heard it all before," he said, nonchalantly.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Now, that the obligatory threat is out of the way, are you going to let the man speak or not?" he added.

The other soldiers watched the captain while he glared at the Doctor. He sighed angrily.

"Very well, let the peasant speak," he said. "If only to get him out of our way, so we can continue to the palace."

"Good answer," the Doctor said, nodding.

He and everyone else turned and looked at Ahmose who was watching the whole scene quietly while he wondered if all this meant he was allowed to speak or not.

"Well, what is it?" the captain said, after a moment of nervous silence.

"Um…"

Ahmose paused and glanced at the Doctor. The Doctor gave him a reassuring smile.

"Well, sir, it's my daughter, Femi," he said.

"Yes, what about her?" the captain said, bored.

"She's vanished, sir. She went missing last night."

"So?"

He glared when the Doctor turned his head and glared at him.

"She is a peasant girl. Why should it be any of my concern?" the captain challenged him.

"Why?" the Doctor said, angrily.

"Oh boy," Rose muttered beside him. "That was the wroooong thing to say."

"Why?" the Doctor continued, as he struggled to maintain his temper. "Because his daughter is a fellow human being, that's why! You apparently are a part of the police force. If his daughter's gone missing, then you should look for her!"

The captain stared at him, shocked, as the other soldiers gave each other amused glances and snickered. The captain glanced around at them.

"Silence!" he yelled at them.

The snickering stopped.

The captain glared at the Doctor.

"I'm surprised you've lived this long with that insolent tongue of yours," he said.

"So am I, frankly," the Doctor said. "But that's beside the point. This man needs help, and it's up to you lot to provide it, regardless of whether or not him and his daughter are peasants."

"You dare tell me what to do?"

The Doctor looked at Rose and shook his head.

"He's pretty slow on the uptake, isn't he?"

"Very," Rose agreed.

He looked back at the captain.

"Yes, I'm telling you what to do. Help this man!"

He gave the captain a challenging look while the soldiers looked at each other. The captain shook his head.

"Fine…we'll help this…man. But first we must deal with you," he said.

The Doctor shrugged.

"Suits me. The quicker we can get this over with, the quicker Rose and I can get to Frigidaria."

He paused.

"And find out if that kid is still alive, so I can track him down and give him a swift kick in the arse for getting us into this mess in the first place," he added.

The captain looked at Ahmose.

"We will come back and deal with you later. Right now, we are on official business."

"Yes, sir. Of course, thank you, sir," Ahmose said, prostrating himself.

The captain rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay, get up and get out of the way."

Ahmose got up and quickly ducked into a nearby alley.

"Alright, soldier, move out," he called out.

"Yes, sir!"

The Doctor and Rose gripped the sides of the chariot when it lurched and started forward. As they passed by Ahmose, the Doctor glanced at him and vowed silently that he would uncover the mystery of his daughter's disappearance before he and Rose left Egypt.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Wow, swank," the Doctor said, as they pulled up to the governor's palace.

He looked down at Rose who was staring up at the imposing structure with wide eyes. He gave her hand a squeeze.

"It'll be all right," He said, reassuringly. "We've gotten out of worse things than this."

Rose nodded and leaned against him.

"Get out," the captain said to them.

The Doctor and Rose looked at him. The Doctor gave him a mock salute, as he and Rose stepped down onto the stone walkway leading up to the palace's front door. Hand in hand, they walked up to the entrance while the guards surrounded them.

With spears at their backs, they walked through the open door and into the dimly lit interior of the palace. Despite being afraid, Rose couldn't help but marvel at the enormous statues of various gods that lined the walkway. After more than a year of traveling with the Doctor, she was finally starting to see how he could be so intrigued with the surroundings even when they were in the midst of danger. Even though she had no idea what was about to happen, she couldn't help but be enchanted by the palace's décor. She had seen pictures in books growing up, but nothing could ever compare to seeing it first hand.

Rose and the Doctor paused when they reached a huge pair of golden doors. They watched, as two guards opened them and then with a shove from behind they walked through. The guards followed them closely, as they walked up to a small golden throne sitting on a raised platform in front of them. They reached the edge of the platform. Suddenly the Doctor let out a grunt as the captain took the butt of his spear and hit him hard in the back of his knee, causing him to fall on the front of them with a groan.

"That's for daring to order me around," the captain said, sneering.

The Doctor glared at him. His eyes widened when a guard grabbed Rose by the shoulders and threw her to her knees.

The guard gasped when the Doctor reared up and grabbed his arm.

"Do that again and you'll have me to deal with," he snarled.

His head jerked forward when the captain took the butt of the spear and struck him in the back of the head. He chuckled gleefully when the Doctor fell back onto his knees and rubbed the back of his head.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you?" he taunted.

The Doctor glared at him.

"If I were you, I wouldn't make me angry," he said. "You wouldn't like to see me completely pissed off."

The captain smirked. Suddenly, with incredible swiftness, he grabbed Rose's hair and jerked her head back while at the same time unsheathing a dagger and placing it against her throat. He chuckled when he saw the panicked look on the Doctor's face while Rose whimpered softly.

"Now, that I have your attention," the captain said with glee. "I want you to sit beside your friend here and behave yourself. Cause any trouble and…well….I can't be sure my hand won't slip and slice her throat open."

For emphasis, he jerked the knife against Rose's skin. The Doctor's eyes widened in horror when two small drops of blood ran down her neck into her shirt.

"You bastard," the Doctor said, through gritted teeth.

"The captain chuckled with amusement.

"Just behave yourself and you won't have to witness that again," he said.

He smirked.

"So, are you going to be a good little prisoner from now on?"

He yanked on Rose's hair and watched with glee when the Doctor's face turned red with anger. His grin widened, as the Doctor slowly nodded his agreement.

"Good, I'm glad we finally see eye to eye," he said.

Rose let out a gasp when he let go of her hair and took the dagger away from her neck. The Doctor moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder while Rose rubbed the wounded place on her neck.

"Okay, I'm really starting to hate ancient Egypt now," she muttered.

"Rose? Are you okay?" the Doctor asked.

Rose nodded.

The Doctor glared up at the captain while he and the other soldiers snickered.

Their attention turned towards the throne when a gong was sounded and a door near the back was opened. The Doctor and Rose gasped, as the soldiers grabbed them by the shoulders and forced them to bow before they bowed behind them. The Doctor moved his head to the side and looked at Rose who had done the same and was staring back at him.

"I'm so sorry I brought you here, Rose," he whispered.

"Nah, it's not your fault," she whispered back.

The Doctor let out an, "Oof" when the captain hit him in the rear with the butt of his spear.

"Silence!" he commanded.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. He slowly inched his hand over and rested it on top of Rose's hand, as someone entered the room and sat in the throne in front of them.

Once the person had settled in the throne, the signal was given, and the Doctor and Rose got onto to their knees while the soldiers stood up.

The Doctor and Rose looked up at the man in front of them. He was a middle-aged man, slightly overweight, wearing a loincloth and a collar of gold around his neck. He regarded them silently for a moment before turning his attention to the captain.

"Captain Amenemhet, please explain the presence of these two in my throne room," he said to him.

Amenemhet dropped to one knee.

"Governor Kahotep, these two have been accused of aiding a thief who stole the sacred scroll of Thoth from the royal archives this afternoon," he said. "We have not been able to capture the actual thief yet, but with your permission, we would like to go ahead and torture these two for information on his whereabouts."

The Doctor squeezed Rose's hand when he heard her let out a gasp.

Kahotep silently stared at the Doctor and Rose.

"Do you wish to name your accomplice and save yourself the agony of the torture room?" he asked them.

The Doctor glanced at Rose.

"Your honor, your lordship, or whatever it is you go by," the Doctor began. "My friend and I had no part in stealing this scroll of Thoth. As for the kid who did steal it, my friend and I have never seen him before. We just happened to be in his path when he was running back to his…getaway…chariot. That's all. He left in his…chariot and disappeared.

"Lies." Amenemhet muttered.

The Doctor shot him a glance and started to say something. He closed his mouth when he smirked and fingered the hilt of his dagger. He turned back to Kahotep.

"It is not lies, sir. My friend and I are innocent and if you search us, you'll find no scroll," he said.

Kahotep sat and regarded them silently. He looked at the Amenemhet.

"Captain, what say you?" he asked.

"I don't believe him for a moment. They know where the scroll is, I just need a bit of persuasion to get the truth out of them."

The Doctor glared at him.

"You just want to torture us, full stop."

He let out a grunt, as Amenemhet smacked him in the face.

"This one needs to be taught some manners, anyway," He said. "He humiliated me in front of my men and delayed our coming here by forcing me to deal with a dirty, filthy peasant and his trivial matter."

He paused and looked the Doctor in the eyes daring him to say something. He smirked when the Doctor glowered at him.

Kahotep stared at Rose and the Doctor while he weighed everything. Finally, he looked at the captain.

"Take them both to a cell until we can figure out what to do with them. If they are guilty, I do not want them running off," he said.

"No!" the Doctor said. "You can't do this."

"Permission to torture, my Lord?" Amenemhet asked.

Kahotep considered that for a moment and then nodded.

Rose gasped and clutched the Doctor's hand. The Doctor glared at the governor.

"You can do what you want with me. But I swear, if any of you lay one finger on Rose, they'll be hell to pay!" he said angrily.

"Silence!" Kahotep commanded.

"This is a travesty!" The Doctor ranted. "You have no evidence against us. All you have to go on is this git's testimony, and he's only out for revenge because I bossed him around."

"I said, silence!"

The Doctor gritted his teeth when Amenemhet grabbed Rose's hair and put his dagger against her throat.

"I believe you were commanded to be quiet," he said, with a sneer.

The Doctor fell silent while Amenemhet looked at his men and snickered.

The Doctor took hold of Rose's hand when the captain released her hair and took away the dagger.

Kahotep glared at them.

"Captain, take these two away from me. I want them out of my sight. In addition, do what you have to in order to get the truth from them. The scroll of Thoth is priceless, and I won't lose it to a bunch of peasant thieves. Throw them in the dungeon."

"At once, my Lord," Amenemhet said, delighted.

The Doctor and Rose grunted as they were seized from behind, dragged to their feet, and dragged away from the throne room to the dungeons below.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Amenemhet sneered at the Doctor and Rose, as he opened the cell door.

"Here is your new home, peasants," he said. "At least until you are executed."

The Doctor glared at him.

"I wouldn't bet on it," he said.

"Still being arrogant, are we?" he asked. "I bet you won't be so arrogant when you feel the whip across your back."

He gave him an evil grin.

"Or…would you rather watch your lady friend get flayed alive. I bet the sound of her screams as her skin is taken off her piece by piece will be enough to quiet your insolent tongue."

He laughed, as the Doctor let out an enraged yell and fought the soldier's grip while he struggled to reach him.

"Yes, I think we'll start with the woman first. Then, you can stand there, helpless, chained to the wall as you watch her agony," he said.

He smirked, as the Doctor fought harder to reach him. Suddenly, without warning, the Doctor managed to get one arm free and with lightning fast speed, he punched Amenemhet in the face. He let out a grunt when the soldiers tackled him and began pummeling him on his face and chest. Rose let out a terrified scream, as blood began to pour out of the Doctor's nose.

"Stop! Please stop!" she begged.

"Stop," Amenemhet said to the other soldiers "I don't want him hurt too much. I want him to be strong, so he'll be broken by the torture."

The soldiers let up, and Rose sobbed as the Doctor lay semi-conscious on the floor. His breathing ragged, he looked up at Rose trying to reassure her with his eyes.

"I'm…okay…Rose," he said slowly. "Don't…cry…"

The captain snickered when Rose broke free from her captors and fell to the ground beside the Doctor. He smirked when she stroked his hair and cradled his head in her lap.

"Aw, isn't this sweet," Amenemhet said, in a sickeningly sweet voice. "His woman is comforting him."

He reached down and stroked her hair.

"Maybe you can comfort me too," he said to her. "I would love to have you as my concubine. My bed is a lot more comfortable than this dark dungeon."

"I'd rather die," Rose spat at him.

Amenemhet shrugged.

"Well, that can be arranged. But wouldn't you rather spend your nights beside a real man instead of this little wimp?"

He knelt down and put his arms around her. He chuckled while Rose struggled to get out of his grip and the Doctor tried to get up on his elbow to reach her. He sneered at the Doctor.

"Of course, with your pretty looks, you might just make a good concubine yourself. I bet there's a man out there with a taste for pretty boys who would be willing to tame you."

His sneer grew wider.

"Of course there wouldn't be much left to tame after you come out of the torture room," he added.

"Get your hands…off Rose," The Doctor gasped out.

Amenemhet looked at his men.

"Do you hear that? He's still being defiant. This one doesn't know when to quit."

He smirked at him.

"Well, we'll see how defiant you are when you're tortured in the morning," he said.

He looked at Rose.

"In the meantime, I think I'll keep your little pet with me tonight. She obviously needs some comforting after seeing you get beat up."

He chuckled when the Doctor became livid.

"What? You mean you want your woman to spend the night in the cold, damp cell, rather than a nice, warm bed?" he asked.

Rose flinched when Amenemhet ran his tongue up the side of her neck. She gasped when the Doctor struggled to get to him.

"No! Doctor! Don't get up! You're hurt," she pleaded with him.

"I don't care," the Doctor grunted. "I won't let him take you from me."

Amenemhet looked at his men.

"Look at this," he said to them. "The little flea doesn't know when to quit."

The Doctor grunted when the captain backhanded him across the face. He smirked, as he fell back to the ground. His smirk fell off his face when he suddenly felt Rose elbow him hard in the ribs.

Rose broke free of his grip and tried to push through the soldiers. She gasped when one of the soldiers punched her in the stomach and brought her to her knees beside the Doctor. She gritted her teeth in pain when the captain seized her hair and jerked her face to his.

"You spawn of a jackal bitch, I was trying to be nice and offer you a way out of your fate. But, if you insist on suffering with this insolent fool, then be my guest. You can spend the night freezing and in the morning, you will be screaming with pain. I have lost patience with both of you."

He looked at his men.

"Throw them in. Let the dung beetles have one night together before the torture begins."

He jerked Rose up by her hair, as two soldiers grabbed the Doctor and jerked him to his feet. The captain looked down when he heard a clatter on the stone floor. He reached down and picked up the sonic screwdriver that had fallen from the Doctor's coat. He examined it for a moment, as the Doctor silently glared at him.

"What's this, thief? More treasure you have stolen?" the captain asked him.

The Doctor glared at him.

"Well, now we have some proof of your crimes," the captain said turning the sonic screwdriver over in his hands. "With a little persuasion tomorrow, you can tell us where you got this, and where the scroll of Thoth is, and maybe, just maybe if you cooperate, you and your woman can have a quick, merciful death."

He opened the cell door. Nodding to his men, he stepped aside, as they threw the Doctor and Rose inside. As Rose crawled to the Doctor's side, the captain shut the door and smirked at them through the bars.

"Enjoy your night," he said to them. "I will be back here tomorrow bright and early to escort you to the torture room. Until then, pleasant dreams."

He paused.

"Oh, and by the way," he added, "we will be going to check on your friend and her missing daughter. I promised you I would take care of the matter, and I would hate to go back on my word. That's something thieves would do, not me."

With a snicker, Amenemhet and his men walked away from the cell, as Rose bent over the injured Doctor.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The Doctor groaned when Rose gently tried to move him into a comfortable position.

"Oh God…Doctor," she said softly, as she stroked his hair.

The Doctor managed a weak smile.

"I'm alright, Rose," he said in a soft voice." Really."

Rose snorted.

"Yeah, you look alright," she said.

"Well, I have looked worse than this."

The Doctor tried to grin, but it came out more of a wince, due to the pain. Rose lay down next to him, and the Doctor carefully shifted his weight, so he could see her better. He reached up and wiped away the tears that were falling down Rose's face.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry for bringing you here."

"Doctor…"

"I never should have brought you here. I never should have brought you with me, full stop. Almost everywhere we go, we get into trouble, and you end up getting hurt, or captured, or nearly dying and it's my fault."

"No," Rose said, laying her hand against his cheek. "Doctor, please quit blaming yourself. I don't want to be anywhere except with you. I love you so much, Doctor. Reinette told me that you were worth the monsters, and she was right. I'd rather be stuck in here with you than be in that bastard's bedroom any day."

The Doctor stroked her cheek.

"I'm glad to hear it, Rose. I'd rather have you here too. I don't know how I would have survived the night knowing that bastard was probably rap…"

He swallowed hard, not wanting to finish the word. The thought of Rose bound and helpless while Amenemhet raped her repeatedly was almost too much to bear.

Rose moved closer and laid her head gently on his chest. She sighed softly while she listened to the twin hearts beating beneath his chest. The Doctor laid his hand on her hair and stroked it while he watched her quietly.

"I'll go first," he finally said.

Rose looked up at him horrified.

"No, Doctor, let me go. You're injured," she pleaded.

"No! I won't let that bastard touch you. I don't want to see you tortured."

"But…if you're gone, there won't be anybody to stop them from torturing me," she said.

The Doctor's hand stroked her cheek.

"What makes you think I'll be going anywhere?" he asked. "I have you here, and I'm going to protect you, like I promised your mum I would. I have no intention of dying."

He shrugged.

"'Sides, I would just regenerate anyway, and I'm sure not even Amenemhet would know how to deal with that," he added.

He put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Get some sleep, Rose. It'll be okay. I won't let anyone hurt you," he soothed.

"My Doctor," Rose sighed.

The Doctor smiled.

"My Rose," he whispered.

Giving the top of her head another kiss, he lay his head back and stared up at the ceiling while he tried to formulate a plan for escape.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Doctor's eyes flew open when he heard the sound of the cell door unlocking. He looked over as Amenemhet sneered at them.

"Well, well, apparently they got in a little lovemaking last night," he said.

Rose's eyes opened, and she whimpered softly. The Doctor brought his hand to her face and gave her a reassuring look.

"Be brave for me, Rose. I'm here," he said.

"Get up vermin. It's time for you to answer for your crimes," Amenemhet said, stepping into the room.

"I'll make a deal with you. Let Rose go, and I'll do whatever you want," the Doctor said.

The captain smirked.

"And what fun would there be in that? If I torture your woman, it'll be double the agony for you. And, I want to see you in as much torment as possible since it'll teach you not to steal from the gods. Now get up!"

The Doctor glared at him. He groaned, as Rose got up and tried to help him to his feet.

"I swear to God, if I see that kid again, he's as good as dead," he muttered.

He put his arm around Rose and gave her a loving look, as they slowly walked to the cell door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The Doctor glanced over at Rose while the soldiers dragged them down a corridor towards the torture room. His hearts ached when he noticed the look of despair in her eyes and his mind filled with self-loathing knowing that he was the cause of her anguish. Once again, his selfish desire to keep her with him had brought them to this point. Once again, he would have to go through the torment of seeing Rose suffer. All because he let his emotions rule his mind. After telling Rose and everyone else how superior his race were and how far above petty human emotions Time Lords are, here he was letting love cloud his judgment and condemning the one thing that meant more to him than his own life. In addition, after the pummeling he took last night, he feared he was still too weak to put up much of a struggle. Even if he got past Amenemhet and his men, he was sure that the palace was filled with more soldiers. In his weakened condition, Rose would have to help him escape and the delay it would cause would be enough to get them recaptured and possibly executed.

The Doctor's eyes closed in agony. The Egyptians had some horrible ways of executing their prisoners, and he was sure that Amenemhet would not hesitate to make their deaths as slow, and as painful as possible. He only hoped if it came to that point that he would go first. He knew that watching Rose die slowly and painfully would destroy his sanity forever. But, with his regenerations, he wouldn't die at all, he would merely change bodies and if he managed to use that to his advantage and escape, it still wouldn't matter because he would spend the rest of his lives condemned to madness.

He let out a groan when the soldiers reached the door to the torture chamber and forced both to them to their knees while they unlocked it. The Doctor looked over at Rose and his hearts nearly tore from his chest when he saw how terrified she was.

"Doctor," she said, softly.

The Doctor's eyes misted over, as he stared at her.

"I'm here, Rose. Whatever happens, I'm going to go through it with you," He said, lovingly.

Rose nodded and tried to put on a brave front. But, the Doctor could see beyond it to the terrified child. Desperately, he fought the soldier's grip wanting nothing more than to take her in his arms and shield her from the horror that was about to descend on them. His weakened efforts to escape proved futile and all he got out of it was the soldier's snickers.

They looked up while the heavy wooden door opened slowly and ominously. The Doctor gritted his teeth, as he was forced to his feet, and he and Rose fought in vain, as they were dragged inside.

His stomach turned, as he looked around at the various torture implements. He couldn't bear to see any of them used on Rose. Gulping back the urge to vomit, he looked over at Amenemhet.

"Please," he begged. "Let Rose go. I take the blame for everything that's happened. She's done nothing. Set her free."

Amenemhet merely smirked. With a nod of his head, the soldiers pulled Rose and the Doctor into a corner and forced them to their knees, as they chained their wrists with chains attached to the floor. Once they were manacled, the Doctor pulled Rose into his arms and stroked her hair while she pressed her face into his chest.

"I won't let them hurt you, Rose," he soothed. "I'll protect you until the last breath leaves my last body."

He looked up and his eyes widened in terror when he saw Amenemhet walking over to him swinging a cat o' nine tails at his side. He stared at Rose's back for a moment and then gave the Doctor a smirk.

"Never," the Doctor said, reading his mind. "I will never let you hurt her."

Amenemhet chuckled. He reached for Rose, as the Doctor tightened his grip around her body.

"Over my dead body," he snarled.

Amenemhet leaned back up and watched them with amusement while the Doctor eyed him warily. He brought his arms tighter around Rose when he felt her shudder with terror.

"You wish to go first then?" Amenemhet asked him.

"I will. And, I will be the only one who goes. You will not touch Rose. I swear, if you even so much as breathe on her wrong, I will tear your throat out."

Amenemhet chuckled.

"We'll see how well you'll be able to protect your lover after you are whipped within an inch of your life," he said.

"No," Rose whispered.

The Doctor brought his hand up to the back of her head and laid his chin against her scalp, as he continued to glare at Amenemhet.

"Very well, if you want to go be my guest," Amenemhet finally said.

He gestured to two of his men. The Doctor stared at them, as they walked over.

"No, please, no," Rose sobbed. "Don't do this, Doctor. Please don't let them hurt you."

"I have to, Rose," he whispered. "I'd rather die than see you in pain."

He rubbed her back while Rose sobbed softly.

"I won't leave you," he whispered. "As long as you're alive, I have something to live for. As long as I know you're alright, I'll be able to endure any torture they throw at me."

As the guards unlocked his manacles, he kissed the top of Rose's head while she desperately clung to him.

"Let go of me, Rose," he said softly.

"No," Rose moaned.

The Doctor leaned down into her ear.

"Let go, angel," he whispered. "I'll be alright, I promise. I'll be thinking of you while it's happening, and I won't even feel the whip hitting me."

He kissed her cheek when he felt Rose slowly ease her grip on him.

"Soon it'll all be over and we'll be in Frigidaria watching the northern lights," he whispered.

With tears streaming down her cheeks, Rose leaned up and kissed the Doctor on the cheek before the soldiers pulled him to his feet. As they pulled him towards a bar protruding from the floor, he looked back and smiled bravely at Rose while she sobbed uncontrollably. He stood quietly, as the soldiers stripped him naked and then with a grunt, he was forced to his knees and his hands were shackled to the bar.

The Doctor took a deep breath and gripped the bar with his hands, as he readied himself for the first blow. He looked up, as Amenemhet came around and stared down at him with a gloating look on his face.

"Are you ready?" he taunted.

The Doctor glared at him and nodded silently.

"Good. Now that you are restrained…"

He looked over at a soldier standing near Rose.

"Qeb, bring his beloved over here, and chain her to the floor," he said, reaching down and picking up a manacle from the floor. "Let her get a closer look at his agony."

"No!" the Doctor bellowed. "You bastard! Let her be! I'll kill you for this! This was not part of the deal!"

He fought against his restraints, as Rose was brought kicking and screaming to the manacles.

"Oh, Rose," he cried in anguish while Rose was forced to her knees and chained to the floor. "Rose, turn your eyes away. Don't look. Please, whatever you do, don't look at me."

"Doctor, Oh, Doctor," Rose sobbed.

The Doctor gritted his teeth, as he tried anything he could think of to get out of the manacles. As he watched Rose become more and more hysterical, he pulled on his restraints no longer caring if he lost his hands in the process. All that mattered was getting to Rose and calming her before she completely lost her mind. He stared at Amenemhet with hate While he chuckled and calmly walked back around to the Doctor's back.

"Now, where were we?" Amenemhet asked nonchalantly, as he picked up the cat o' nine tails.

He smirked.

"Ah, yes, I remember now…"

With a grin, he raised the cat o' nine tails and brought them down on the Doctor's bare back.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The Doctor had lied. The moment the whip fell on his back, pain shot through him like a lightning bolt, and no amount of fantasizing about Rose was going to make it hurt any less. In fact, the fact that Rose was a few feet away from him, screaming hysterically, only made it hurt worse.

He had been tortured before. In fact, many times before, and there had been times when it had been in front of his other companions. But, like everything else with Rose, this was different. No other companion had affected him the way Rose had, and this fact made it very hard for him to maintain the mental control that in the past had allowed him to numb his body, so he would be able to get through the torment unscathed. The fact that the love of his life was kneeling near him on the verge of a nervous breakdown made it hard to focus on anything.

He gritted his teeth to prevent himself from biting his tongue in half, as the whip came down on him again. Pain coursed throughout his already weakened body, and he felt warm rivulets of blood run down his back and onto his buttocks, as Rose begged and pleaded for Amenemhet to stop. His response was a taunting laugh, and the Doctor groaned as the whip hit his backside once more.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you thief? Thinking twice about stealing things that don't belong to you?" he taunted.

Pure hate coursed through the Doctor. His eyes darkened, as he wished Amenemhet and his men dead. For a moment, he imagined killing them all with his bare hands and killing them slowly and painfully, so he could derive as much satisfaction out of it as he could; a thought he would never have entertained in his younger years. The thought was interrupted, as the whip hit his back once more.

Through the haze of pain, the Doctor noticed that Rose had gone quiet. He glanced up and noticed to his horror that Rose was beginning to retreat into her own mind. If this wasn't ended soon, she would be lost forever in a catatonic limbo.

As inhuman as it seemed to make her witness this, he couldn't let her lapse into a comatose state. She had to stay with him, for his sake as much as for hers.

"Rose," he grunted out. "Rose, listen to me. Don't go. Stay with me, Rose. Please."

"Something wrong?" Amenemhet taunted.

Fighting the pain, the Doctor turned his head and looked up at him.

"Listen to me," he grunted. "Stop this right now. I'll tell you what you want to know. Or…if you won't stop it, take Rose away from here. She's seen enough."

"What's wrong? You don't like having your lover here to watch you?"

The Doctor glared at him wanting nothing more than to be free and strangling him with his own whip.

"Listen to me, you git," he said through gritted teeth. "If you keep this up, Rose is going to be catatonic and won't be able to see anything! You're destroying her mind, and I'm sure you don't want that; especially since you want her to be fully conscious when her turn comes. Now either stop this or move her someplace where she can't see me. Deal with me alone, because if you let this go on and Rose becomes a vegetable, I guarantee I'll make you regret ever being born"

Amenemhet paused. He looked at the Doctor and looked over at Rose who was now sitting quietly with a blank look on her face. He lowered his cat o' nine tails to his side.

"Very well, you have five minutes to revive her," he said. "I need to rest my arm anyway."

Amenemhet moved off to the side to get a drink of water while the Doctor gulped in a welcome breath of air and steadied himself. Sweat rolled down his face and into his eyes, and he blinked trying to clear his vision.

"Rose," he said to her. "Rose, wake up. Please, come back to me. Don't go away, Rose. He's stopped. I'm alright, I promise."

He paused, and his hearts ached, as Rose remained impassive. He felt rage at Amenemhet begin to rise within him, as he tried desperately to snap Rose back to her senses.

"Rose, please…please wake up," he pleaded with her.

He gulped when Rose remained quiet. He spun his head around and glared at Amenemhet who was over in the corner with a couple of his men getting sips of water out of a jar with a wooden ladle.

"Let me go," he commanded them.

Amenemhet paused and raised his eyebrow, as the other soldiers stared at the Doctor, amused.

"Let you go?" Amenemhet asked, smirking.

"Yes, let me go. I want to go over and touch Rose."

Amenemhet snorted.

"You must think me a fool if you think I'll just set you free."

The Doctor stared at him, enraged.

"Oh, for Rassilon's sake, I'm not going anywhere you bastard. I'm injured. I can't exactly do a marathon at this moment. All I want to do is hold Rose and let her feel me, so she'll snap out of her catatonic state. I give you my word that I won't try to escape. Now please, unshackle my wrists, so I can get to her."

Amenemhet considered this, as he took a sip from the ladle. His men stood and waited for his response. Putting the ladle back in the jar, he shrugged, as he walked towards the Doctor.

"Why not? I've got plenty of time to finish. I can afford to take a long break," he said.

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief, as he took out his keys and unlocked the manacles.

"There," he said nonchalantly, waving his hand towards Rose.

As the Doctor brought his hands to the ground and began to crawl towards Rose, Amenemhet signaled Qeb to go stand guard at the door.

The Doctor gritted his teeth, as he crawled slowly along the stone floor towards Rose. Blood rolled off his buttocks, down his legs, and onto the floor, as he concentrated on getting to Rose and comforting her before it was too late. Cursing his tormentors in Gallifreyan, he slowly eased himself into a sitting position and fighting the wave of dizziness that threatened to make him pass out; he reached out and brought Rose close to his chest. He positioned her ear so it was right next to his heartbeats, and he stared at her quietly for a moment, as she remained impassive.

"Rose? Rose, it's me," He said, as he stroked her hair. "Rose? Can you hear me?"

His hearts ached when Rose gave no response.

He watched her for a moment. Then, getting a thought, he brought his fingers up to her temple, closed his eyes, and scanned her mind for any thoughts. Fear rose in his hearts, as he sensed nothing happening in her mind. Taking a deep breath, he began to concentrate as Amenemhet, and his men watched with silent interest. As his breath slowed, and became steady, he became oblivious to his surroundings, and the pain radiating throughout his body, as he delved deep into Rose's mind. Concentrating, he began to call out inside her head

_Rose? Rose, can you hear me? It's the Doctor, Rose. I'm here. Answer me please._

He paused for a moment while he listened for a response. Finding none, he willed himself deeper into her subconscious mind. Ignoring the flashes of her memory that floated through his own mind, he paused and sent another thought projection into her brain.

_Rose, answer me. Rose. I'm safe. Please come back to me now._

_Doctor?_

The Doctor's breath caught in his throat when Rose's voice flitted through his mind for an instant. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated once more.

_Rose. Rose, where are you?_

_Doctor?_

_Rose. I'm here, angel__. It's alright. Please follow the sound of my voice; I'll lead you back to the waking world._

_No._

_Rose, please._

_No, I can't bear seeing him hurt you any more. I don't want to watch you die._

_I won't die, Rose, I promise. I'll be alright. Please come back to me. Let me take you back to my side. I don't want to lose you._

_Doctor._

_Rose, come to me. Follow my voice. Let me lead you away from this darkness. I love you, Rose. Don't go where I can't follow you__. I need you beside me. Please, Rose. Don't do this to me._

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief when he sensed Rose's mind beginning to come to life. A tear rolled down his cheek, as he began to feel her thoughts in his mind.

"That's right, Rose," he murmured. "Come back to me."

He smiled when he felt Rose began to stir beneath his fingertips. He brought his fingers away from her temples and opened his eyes, as the blank look faded, and Rose began to blink her eyes in confusion. He smiled when Rose finally looked into his eyes.

"Hello there," he said, stroking her face.

"Hi," Rose said, softly.

The Doctor stiffened, as her eyes went from his face to the blood pooling around his legs. He cupped her face when she began to turn ashen.

"No, Rose. I'm alright," he said, gently raising her head back up to his eyes.

He leaned down and kissed the tears that began to flow down her cheeks.

"I'm alright, Rose," he soothed. "I don't even feel any pain anymore."

It was another lie. He hated lying to her, but giving Rose's fragile state, he thought it necessary in this case.

His arms wrapped around her, and he brought her to his chest. Kissing her softly on the top of the head, he watched her carefully for any signs of relapse while she sobbed quietly into his chest.

Smiling softly, he brought his fingers up to the back of her head and stroked her hair, as Rose lifted her head and sat her chin on his left shoulder. He turned his head and kept his careful watch on her, studying her face for any signs that she might be going into shock again. He heard nothing behind him, so he assumed Amenemhet and his men were just standing and watching the scene unfold before them.

Suddenly, the Doctor let out a startled gasp when, without warning, Rose let out an enraged yell and flew out of his arms onto the floor. Shocked, the Doctor stared at her, as she began to crawl on her hands and knees towards Amenemhet and his men.

"I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!" she screamed, hysterically.

Both the Doctor and the soldiers stared at Rose in shock, amazed at the sudden change in her demeanor. Doing a complete 180 degrees from the terrified, crying girl; Rose was now on the warpath crawling towards Amenemhet and his men, as she thought only of killing the ones who had hurt her Doctor. As Rose found the strength to get to her feet and began to lunge towards their captors, the Doctor snapped out of his reverie, and with superhuman strength, leaped to his feet and lunged at her determined to get to her before something happened, and she ended up dead. Eyes wide with horror, he noticed the soldiers raising their spears towards Rose. He put on a final burst of speed and tackled her to the ground, seconds before one of the spears would have pierced her heart. As Rose let out an enraged scream, the Doctor held onto her and glanced up at Amenemhet and the soldiers, amused that they had actually backed up a couple of feet in shock. Even as the Doctor worked to calm Rose down, he felt a twinge of pride knowing that even after all the mental anguish she had been through, she still had enough inner strength in her to be a little spitfire.

Glancing up again, he noticed with glee that there was a hint of fear in the soldier's eyes, as Rose writhed and screamed underneath him. Clearly, they weren't used to a woman who was capable of going ballistic on them at any given moment. Suppressing an urge to laugh at them, he instead turned his attentions back to Rose trying to get her calmed back down before the soldiers recovered from their shock and began skewering them with their spears.

It took a moment, but finally Rose went limp beneath his body. Breathing a sigh of relief, the Doctor stroked her side, as Rose wept quietly. He held onto her, as the soldiers looked on, unsure of what to do. He looked at them with a smug look on his face.

"See, I told you it wasn't a good idea to have her in the same room when I'm being tortured," he said.

Amenemhet glared at him.

"Well, now that you've gotten her under control, we will take her into another room. We must continue the interroga…"

"YOU AREN'T TAKING ME ANYWHERE! I'LL KILL YOU!"

An amused grin spread over the Doctor's face when Amenemhet backed up again and stood with his men, staring at Rose.

"Oh come on, captain. Don't tell me you're afraid of a little woman?" the Doctor taunted.

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT THE DOCTOR ANYMORE!" Rose bellowed.

For a moment, the Doctor wondered if her rage was going to reawaken the Bad Wolf within her. Even though he knew it wasn't a good idea to wake something that carried complete god-like cosmic power and unleash it on ancient Egypt, on the other hand, it would certainly make escape a hell of a lot easier for them.

The Doctor knew that in a moment or two, the soldiers would act regardless of whether Rose was submissive or not. He knew that they would use any means necessary to shut her up, so they could get her out of the room, and he didn't want to risk further injury to her. He looked up at Amenemhet.

"Let me take her out of here."

Amenemhet started to refuse when the Doctor pointed down to Rose.

"Do you see how she is? Do you want to deal with her?" he asked. "Let me take her back to the cell, and get her calmed down and comfortable, and then I'll come back to face interrogation."

"NO!"

The Doctor sighed angrily.

"Rose! Be still!" he ordered her.

He sighed when Rose let out a sob.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said gently. "But, you need to calm down. You're not doing anyone any good by going off like this."

"Look who's talking," he heard Rose mutter to herself.

Fighting the urge to smile at the remark, he looked back up at Amenemhet.

"What about it, captain? Do I get to take her back to her cell, or do you want the honor?"

Amenemhet stood there for a moment thinking it over, and then with an exasperated sigh, nodded his head.

"Fine, get her out of here. I'm sick of wasting time listening to this," he said, angrily.

The Doctor smiled, secretly glad that Rose had a bad temper. He hoped that the soldier's reluctance to deal with her had just opened up an avenue of escape for them both.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The Doctor gasped, as he slowly made his way down the corridor towards their cell. Rose was on his left side supporting him as much as she could and behind them, two of the soldiers walked keeping an eye on both of them. The Doctor glanced over at Rose from time to time still worried that seeing him in this state could send her back into hysterics. However, she seemed relatively calm. The Doctor guessed it was because he was out of danger for the moment, but still, after what had happened back in the torture room, he wasn't about to count out another sudden outburst.

He smiled at Rose while she held onto his arm. He noticed that every once in awhile she would look at his backside and shudder. He was still naked and though normally being completely nude in front of a bunch of people would make him extremely self-conscious; now he didn't care. All that mattered to him was Rose. He doubted if he would be able to stand clothing, with the scourging he had just undergone.

He glanced down at Rose.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"I…I guess. I don't know," she said. "I feel so numb inside."

The Doctor ached for her. Carefully, he maneuvered himself closer to Rose and draped his left arm around her while he kissed her cheek.

"Aw, isn't that sweet," one of the soldiers said, elbowing the other in the ribs.

His laughter stopped when Rose's head spun around and  
she gave him a look of death.

The Doctor bit his lip to keep from laughing, as Rose  
turned her head back around.

"Rose Tyler, I do believe you've freaked out our new friends," he said to her.

"I hate them. I hate them all. I want them to die for what they did to you," she murmured.

The Doctor stared at Rose. He watched her fighting to keep her temper under control, and as he did, a memory flashed through his mind.

_I want you safe, my Doctor. Protected from the false god._

The Doctor shivered. He remembered the Bad Wolf's unearthly voice, as she...it...said that to him. The cold impersonal way she made the Daleks disintegrate on command had filled him with wonder and fear. To know that something that dangerous resided in the body of a sweet, naive shop girl from London unsettled him deeply. How had it gotten into her in the first place? Was she born with the entity inside of her, or did it possess her on one of their travels? He knew he had to get to the bottom of this mystery eventually both to satisfy his curiosity and to determine whether this Bad Wolf was a danger to Rose, as well as the universe. If it was a threat, he wanted it out of her.

But, at the moment, he couldn't worry about it. He had to figure out how to get both of them away from the palace and back to the TARDIS.

They reached the door to their cell. The Doctor turned to allow the soldiers to unlock it...and froze. There lying in the straw several feet away from the door was another prisoner. The Doctor squinted trying to make out his features in the dim light. His eyes widened when he suddenly recognized him.

"Ahmose," he said, shocked.

He and Rose spun their heads around and looked at the soldiers who were staring at them with grins on their faces.

"Oh yes, that's right," one of them said. "With everything that's been going on, we forgot to tell you we went and took care of your friend for you."

The Doctor's blood began to boil.

"You bastards! You had no right to imprison him!"

"We had every right. He interrupted official government business."

"But his daughter's gone missing."

The soldier shrugged.

"Not our concern," he said as his friend nodded in agreement. "One less vermin stinking up the city now."

The Doctor gritted his teeth.

"You heartless bastards!" he said. "You won't get away with this!"

The soldiers glanced at each other.

"Oh yeah, how are you going to stop us when you're writhing in pain?"

Without warning, the soldier nearest the Doctor raised his spear, spun it around so the butt of the spear faced his back, and rammed it into his wounds.

Rose screamed, as the Doctor gritted his teeth and fell to his knees in agony. She let out an enraged yell, as she started to attack them, but was stopped short, as the soldier hit her square in the face with the butt of the spear. She fell to the floor unconscious as the Doctor yelled her name. The soldier raised his spear and quickly hit the Doctor on the back of the head knocking him out.

"There," he said, bringing his spear down. "Now neither one of you will give us any trouble."

He glanced at his friend.

"Open the door and throw the girl in. She can keep the peasant company while we continue to interrogate this one."

The soldier glanced down at the Doctor and chuckled, as his friend unlocked the cell door and dragged Rose inside.

"There, we've done your bidding," he said, to the unconscious Doctor. "Your lover is safe. Now we can get back to the business of punishing you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rose groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

"Oh God, my head hurts so bad," she muttered.

Putting a hand to her temple, she squinted, as her eyes tried to adjust to the dim light.

"Doctor? Are you okay?" she said out loud.

She winced when she tried to raise herself up on her elbows.

"Those bastards. Hurting you like that, Doctor. If I get my hands on them, I'll strangle them all," she said

She paused, as she waited for the Doctor to answer her back.

"Doctor?" she said, when she got no response.

"Your friend isn't here."

Rose looked over at Ahmose who was lying in the straw a few feet away.

"Where is he? Where have they taken..."

Rose paused and got a sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"No...No... Oh, God, no, they didn't take him back to..."

Ahmose nodded.

"After you and your friend were knocked out; they put you in here and carried him back to the torture chamber."

Rose closed her eyes in anguish. She couldn't bear to think what they were doing to her Doctor.

"How...how long has it been...since they took him back," she finally managed to get out.

Ahmose thought for a moment.

"I'm not sure. It's so dark down here; I can't tell whether it is day or night, let alone what time it is."

He thought for a moment.

"If I had to guess, I would say about an hour though."

Rose felt sick to her stomach. They could have done anything to him in the space of an hour. She shook her head trying to rid her mind of fantasies of what he was going through and concentrated on Ahmose instead.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

Ahmose nodded.

"I was not harmed," he said. "A few of those soldiers came to my house and arrested me in front of my wife and youngest daughter. But I came quietly, so they didn't hurt any of us."

Rose sighed angrily. First her, and the Doctor, and now Ahmose. Someone needed to do something and stop the captain and his soldiers. Although, after thinking about it, she figured that was the way things worked around here; but it still didn't make it right. The Doctor had mentioned to her before that her sense of moral outrage didn't always fit in with some culture's way of doing things, and she knew he had a point. Not all cultures acted nobly and for the good of all; but that didn't stop Rose from being angry about it and wanting to make it right. The Doctor did exactly the same thing day in and day out. She shook her head sadly.

"I'm so sorry this has happened to you, Ahmose," she said.

Ahmose shrugged.

"There is nothing I can do about it. Our lives are at the mercy of the gods and their earthly son, the Pharaoh. In the grand scheme of things we matter little."

Rose's blood boiled hearing Ahmose talking so negatively about himself. It was a shame that such a sweet man would feel that he was so insignificant and worthless. She had as much a desire as the Doctor to see his daughter returned to him. The man deserved some happiness after all this.

"Did they even look for your daughter, Ahmose?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"They said it was none of their concern. They had more important things to do than to send out search parties for her," he said, sadly.

Rose shook her head.

"The Doctor and I aren't like that, Ahmose. We're gonna get outta here...all of us...and then we'll help you find your daughter."

In the dim light, Rose could make out Ahmose smiling, and it made her feel a little bit better knowing that they could possibly help him. It was one of the things Rose loved about traveling with the Doctor. Not only did she get to see other worlds, and times, but she also got to help the Doctor fix things and make a difference in people's lives. It was fulfilling knowing that she was doing more than being just a shop girl.

They looked over when they heard a key turning in the door. Rose's eyes widened in terror when she saw the Doctor slumped onto the shoulder of one of the soldiers. She watched, anguished, as the soldier opened the door and threw the semi-conscious Doctor to the ground like a sack of potatoes. As Rose struggled to get to his side, the soldier slammed the door shut and smirked at them.

"Have a good night," he said.

He chuckled while he stared at the prisoners for a moment and then turning, he left them alone in the darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Doctor!"

Rose's heart was in her throat, as she reached the Doctor's side. Tears ran down her face, as she looked at his battered and bruised body. One eye was black and swollen almost completely shut. Bruises were scattered all over his face and his body, and to Rose's horror, what looked like burn marks were on his back and front.

Rose wept uncontrollably, as she lowered her head to the Doctor's chest. As she cried, she suddenly felt a hand resting on the top of her head.

"Don't cry, Rose. I'll be alright."

Rose looked up and saw the Doctor was staring at her through his one good eye. Rose moved her hands to his face and gently cupped his cheeks.

"Oh, Doctor. What have they done to you?" she moaned, softly.

The Doctor managed a pained smile.

"They did quite a lot to me, it seems," he said softly. "But don't worry. I gave them hell. I taught them not to mess with me."

Rose stared at the Doctor wondering how he managed to fight back through all his injuries. Her eyes widened when she saw the Doctor winking and giving her that pained grin again. She rolled her eyes. Of all the times to be joking around…

The Doctor watched Rose, as she gently laid her cheek next to his.

"Doctor," She whispered.

"Shhh, I'm here. It's going to be alright," the Doctor soothed.

"What did they do to you?"

The Doctor nuzzled her cheek.

"It doesn't matter now. All that matters is you're safe," he whispered.

He held her tightly, as tears fell down Rose's cheeks.

"I can't bear to think of you in pain," she said softly.

The Doctor smiled. He moved his head slightly and kissed Rose's cheek.

"It didn't hurt that much," he said softly. "Once I knew you were safe here, I was able to go into a trance like state and numb my body. I didn't feel anything until after it was all over, and they were bringing me back here. And now, seeing you safe and unharmed takes away even more of the pain."

He kissed the tearstains on her cheek.

"I've had worse, Rose, believe me," he said. "Being whipped and burned is nothing compared to being strapped into a mind raper machine, or having bore worms go through your body. You humans can be ruthless and cruel to one another, but compared to some species, your torture methods are a cake walk."

Rose shuddered. The thought of him being in any pain was enough to make her sick to her stomach. She looked into his brown eyes and wondered how one man could have survived so much hell.

"I didn't know. You've never really told me much about your past. Oh, Doctor, to think that you've been tortured like this in the past…"

She trailed off. The Doctor smiled, as Rose wrapped her arms protectively around his body and laid her head beside his.

"My Rose," he said softly. "Defender of the universe…and my gorgeous body."

He grinned when Rose managed a small giggle. He laid his cheek against hers, and Rose let out a small sigh.

He looked over at Ahmose, who was watching them quietly.

"What about you?" he asked him. "Are you alright?"

Ahmose nodded.

"Apart from being in here," he said.

Rose looked at the Doctor.

"They didn't look for his daughter. They just arrested him and threw him in here," she said.

The Doctor nodded.

"I know," he said angrily. "I heard all about it from Amenemhet. Rest assured, Ahmose. We will get out of here and find what's become of Femi."

Ahmose nodded.

"She said that too," he said, gesturing to Rose. "I'm grateful to you for trying to find Femi, but how are you going to escape? We're locked in a cell, and you're badly injured. How are you going to be able to move fast enough to avoid getting captured?"

"I'll think of something," the Doctor assured him. "I need to get my clothes back, as well as my sonic screwdriver. But, even if I don't get my clothes back, I can't afford to leave the screwdriver here in the hands of primitive humans. The risk is too great."

"Do you think Amenemhet still has it?" Rose asked.

The Doctor snorted.

"Probably. He thought it was treasure and from what I've seen of him, he'd be the type to keep something like that for himself, instead of turning it over to the governor."

Rose put her hand against the Doctor's cheek and stroked it gently, as she thought. The Doctor studied her face.

"What are you thinking about?" he finally asked her.

"I'm thinking about taking Amenemhet up on his offer," Rose said.

The Doctor frowned.

"What offer?"

"To be his concubine."

The Doctor felt sick to his stomach.

"No! I won't let you, Rose," he said.

"Doctor, if he has the sonic screwdriver, he probably has it in his room. If I can get into his bed, I might be able to get it and get back here once he goes to sleep."

"And what if he doesn't go to sleep, Rose? What if he decides to stay up and…"

The Doctor's face twisted into revulsion as he trailed off.

"No! I won't let you," he said, holding her closer to him. "I won't let you risk being raped to save us."

"What other choice do we have, Doctor? You're hurt. There's no way you can fight off the soldiers and get your sonic screwdriver back. I'm the only one who can do this."

The Doctor stared at her, tormented, as he ran his hand down her cheek.

"Rose. You don't understand. Knowing that you were in that bastard's bed and possibly being used by him would make me suffer worse than any torture could," he said. "I can't risk you doing this. I just went in that torture chamber and suffered voluntarily, so they wouldn't do anything to you."

Rose felt tears coming to her eyes.

"I have to do it, Doctor," she said. "I don't have any choice."

The Doctor shook his head.

"No, that's not true. There are always other choices. Other things we can do without you giving your body up. Rose, you don't have to do this. I'll think of something. I always do. Trust me, Rose. Please," he beseeched her.

Rose laid her head against the Doctor's chest. She rubbed his arm while she thought. Rose swallowed hard knowing that what she was saying was killing the Doctor inside, but she knew she had to do it.

Gently, she kissed his forehead, as the Doctor pulled her protectively to his chest.

"My Doctor," she said softly. "I'll be careful, I promise. I won't let him shag me. I just want to see if I can get the sonic screwdriver back."

Rose gasped, as the Doctor grasped her arms and stared at her with an intense look.

"Listen to me and listen well, Rose Tyler," he said in a strained voice. "You will go in there only because you are looking for the sonic screwdriver. If it isn't in there, get out of there and get yourself to safety. I'm not worth someone raping or torturing you. Do you understand me?"

Rose nodded.

"If you get the screwdriver and can't get back to us, just take it and go. Don't worry about me. Do you understand that?"

"Doctor…"

"Do you understand me?" The Doctor repeated.

Rose bit her lip and nodded.

The Doctor let out a ragged sigh, as he shook his head.

"I hate myself for allowing you to do this," he said. "If I weren't this badly injured, I wouldn't even entertain the idea. But, you're right. The longer we sit here, the more danger we put ourselves in."

He swallowed hard.

"I have no choice," he said sadly.

Rose ached when she saw the despair in his one good eye. She lowered her face to the Doctor's and gave him a kiss on the lips. A tear ran down her cheek when the Doctor gently returned the kiss. She pulled back and looked at him quietly for a few moments before willing herself to get up and move away from him towards the cell door. Trying not to think about the Doctor staring up at her with a mixture of sadness and love, she pressed her body up against the cell door and gestured to a nearby guard.

"Hey, you," she said. "Tell Amenemhet I want to talk to him now. It's urgent."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Rose waited impatiently by the cell door, straining her face against it, trying to see if she could get a glimpse of anyone coming towards them. She kept her eyes purposefully away from the Doctor. She could feel his eyes on her back, and she knew if she looked into his eyes, she would lose all the courage she had been building up.

She swallowed hard when she saw the guard and Amenemhet coming towards her. Now or never…

Amenemhet walked up to the cell door and stared at Rose with an amused grin on his face.

"You wish to see me?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about what you said earlier. About being your concubine. I…"

She paused when she heard the Doctor shudder behind her. She steeled herself.

"I want to take you up on your offer," she finished.

Amenemhet studied her face, as Rose tried to look convincing. He glanced over at the Doctor and saw the look of hatred on his face. He looked back to Rose.

"What about your lover?" he asked, gesturing to the Doctor.

Rose forced herself to shrug and adopt a nonchalant attitude.

"I'm done with him. He's useless," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "He isn't strong enough to protect me. He's just lying there like a little girl."

She steeled herself while she tried to lie convincingly. She hated the things that were coming out of her mouth. She knew it was hurting the Doctor to hear it.

"Anyway," she said. "I don't want to stay in this cold, dark cell anymore. I want to be in a nice, warm bed with a real man."

Amenemhet folded his arms over his chest while he searched her face. Rose tried to keep her face as impassive as she could, while all the while wishing she was back in the TARDIS at her Doctor's side while they traveled to Frigidaria. She knew if he wasn't so incapacitated by his injuries, he would be up by her side preventing her from doing this.

Amenemhet regarded her for a moment. He looked back at the guard.

"Watch my back," he said to him." I want to try something."

The guard nodded. He stepped up behind Amenemhet, as he took his keys and unlocked the door. As the guard raised his spear, he slipped inside the door and put his hands on Rose's shoulder.

"What…what are you doing?" Rose asked, confused.

Amenemhet smirked.

"A little test, my dear. To see if you're really serious about wanting to be with me," he said.

Suddenly, before Rose could act, Amenemhet pulled her to him and mashed his lips down onto hers. Rose heard the Doctor let out an angry gasp, as Rose tried to keep calm and fight the urge to pull away and run to the Doctor's side. Fighting the revulsion in her stomach, she forced herself to kiss him back.

"Oh, Rose," she heard the Doctor moan softly.

Rose felt uneasy. Suddenly, her confidence began to fade, as she wondered if her plan would backfire on her, and she really would end up being raped by Amenemhet. She closed her eyes trying not to think what that would do to the Doctor if that happened.

Amenemhet pulled back and stared at Rose. Rose kept her face as impassive as she could. Her eyes widened when he took his hand, put it up under her shirt, and began to feel her breast. Rose heard the Doctor let out an angry growl, and she knew that the only reason Amenemhet was still breathing was that the Doctor was too injured to move.

"You aren't pulling away from my touch," Amenemhet observed.

Rose nodded.

"I told you. I want a real man."

It pained her to say that. If there was a real man in the room, it was the one lying injured behind her.

Amenemhet regarded her silently for a moment while Rose held her breath. Finally, he nodded.

"Very well," he said. "If you want a nice warm bed, I will certainly oblige you."

He looked past her to the Doctor. Rose kept her eyes on Amenemhet and watched while he gave the Doctor a triumphant smirk. She could only imagine the kind of expression the Doctor was giving back to him.

Amenemhet turned to the guard.

"Take her to my room and make her comfortable. I'll be there soon," he said to him.

The guard nodded.

As Amenemhet gave him some additional instructions, Rose took the opportunity to look back at the Doctor. She saw him staring at Amenemhet with hate and disgust. The moment he caught sight of Rose looking, however, the rage faded away, and he stared at her with love in his eyes. He smiled at her.

"Be careful," he mouthed.

"I will," she mouthed back.

She turned back around, as Amenemhet finished his instructions.

"Go with him. He'll take you to my quarters," Amenemhet said, gesturing to the guard.

Rose nodded. Steeling herself, she walked past Amenemhet and stopped beside the guard. The guard took her by the arm and turning, he escorted her down the hall.

Amenemhet waited at the door until they were out of sight, then with a smug grin, he turned, walked further into the cell, and closed the door behind him.

The Doctor eyed him warily, as he walked up to him and bent down.

"I trust your wounds are healing," he said, in a sickeningly sweet voice.

The Doctor said nothing.

He smirked.

"I don't believe her lies for a moment," he said.

The Doctor's eyes widened.

Amenemhet chuckled.

"After all that happened between you today; I hardly think she would turn away from you that quickly."

He allowed himself a smug grin.

"Although, I admit, I am far better than you are."

The Doctor snorted softly.

"I don't know what your beloved has in mind, but I'm pretty sure she's trying an escape plan."

He reached down, grabbed the Doctor's face, and forced him to look into his eyes.

"That's it, isn't it? She's going to wait till I get into bed with her, and she'll probably knock me out, or kill me, and take my keys, and rescue you. Well, I'm afraid she's in for a big surprise when she finds herself naked, and bound, and completely at my mercy."

He chuckled when he saw the rage in the Doctor's eyes.

"What? Do you think you and your lover are the first to try something like this? I didn't get to be captain of the guard by being an inattentive fool."

He smirked.

"At this very moment, your lover is walking into a trap, and I'm afraid it's going to end very badly for her."

He paused for a moment.

"I'm not sure yet if I'll torture and kill her. I may just enslave her and make her my concubine for the rest of her life."

"Leave her alone."

Amenemhet smirked.

"Oh, but I can't. How can I refuse someone when she comes so willingly to my bedroom? No, I'm going to enjoy taking my time with her. I'll even get her to make love to me, since I know she can't refuse me without revealing the little ruse."

He chuckled when he saw the pained look on the Doctor's face.

"Don't feel bad. If you're a good boy, I may let you watch," he said. "And if you're a really good boy, I may even let you have a turn after I'm done with her."

He stood up and jumped back when the Doctor tried to grab at him. He laughed, as he backed up towards the door.

"Well, I'd love to stay here and chat some more but I have someone waiting for me in my bedroom, and I'm just eager to get my hands on her."

He looked from the Doctor over to Ahmose and back.

"Have a good evening, and enjoy your stay in here."

Chortling, he unlocked the door and quickly went out, as the Doctor struggled to get to his feet. Shutting the door and locking it, he gave the Doctor one last triumphant look before he walked off down the hall whistling.

The Doctor closed his eyes, as his head slumped to the ground. What had he done? Rose was in danger, and it was his fault. He knew if something happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

Closing his eyes, he murmured a prayer that Rose would be able to realize what was going on and escape from him before it was too late.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Grunting and groaning, the Doctor slowly inched his way over to the cell door, as Ahmose watched quietly.

"What are you doing?" he asked him.

The Doctor looked over at him with desperation in his eyes.

"I have to get out of here. I have to stop him before he hurts Rose," he gasped out.

"How? The door is locked," Ahmose replied.

"I have to find a way. I can't let Rose suffer. It's my fault she's in there. I never should have agreed to let her go," the Doctor said, as he grasped the bars on the door.

Groaning, he fought back the pain, as he pulled himself to his knees. Panting from the exertion, he examined the door lock.

"Damn it," he muttered. "Damn that bastard for taking my sonic screwdriver."

He let out an angry sigh.

"Damn me for not having it stored more securely. But then again, how was I to know when I stepped out of the TARDIS yesterday that in a day and a half, I would be tortured and manhandled by ancient Egyptians."

He pounded his fist against the bars.

"Damn, damn, damn," he spat out, as he rested his open palm against the bars.

Ahmose watched, as he began to scan around him for something to pick the lock with.

"It won't be so bad," he said trying to calm the Doctor down. "I'm sure she won't be tortured, he'll probably just have sex with her and bring her back to you."

The Doctor paused and stared at Ahmose with barely controlled rage.

"I don't want that bastard touching her, let alone having sex with her," he said angrily.

"But surely, if given a choice, it would be better for her to have intercourse with him rather than being tortured."

"There is more than one way to torture someone, Ahmose," the Doctor said. "And Rose getting raped and knowing that he did rape her would be unbearable torture for us both. I've been through enough pain today without that on top of it."

Ahmose shrugged and fell silent. It was no use arguing with the stranger. He sat and watched, as the Doctor continued to look for a way out, all the while cursing softly under his breath. He didn't know either of them very well, but he hoped that Amenemhet didn't end up raping the woman. Judging from the man's reaction, he was sure the captain would live to regret it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rose looked at the guard, as he released her arm, walked back out into the hallway, closed the heavy wooden door, and left her alone in Amenemhet's bedroom. She quickly began a cursory inspection of the room trying to see if she could locate the sonic screwdriver. She frowned when she couldn't find it.

"Oh God, what if it's not in here?" she muttered.

She glanced at the door wondering if the guard was stationed outside. She didn't know if the door had a lock on it or not. She hadn't heard any noise that would indicate the door had been locked; but she didn't want to risk opening the door and taking a peek out if the guard was out there. On the other hand, she really didn't want to wait on Amenemhet to come and rape her either. Sighing, she glanced around regretting her decision to do this. As her eyes scanned the room, they fell on an ornate box on a table in the corner of the room. She stared at the box that was covered with intricate designs made out of lapis lazuli, and opal, and marveled at its beauty. As she stared at it, she suddenly had a thought. With hope in her heart, she walked over to it and opened the lid. Her heart soared. Nestled in the middle of some jewels and gold coins was the sonic screwdriver. Breathing a sigh of relief, she reached in to grab it, thanking God that he hadn't turned it into the governor. Suddenly, she heard someone at the door. Quickly, she dropped the lid and moved away from the box towards the bed. She had time to set down on the edge of it before the door opened, and Amenemhet stepped inside.

He stared at her.

"What were you doing?" he asked her.

Rose shrugged.

"Just sitting here looking around at your room," she said.

Amenemhet smiled at her.

"It is lovely. One of the perks of being the captain of the guard," he said proudly.

Rose turned her head away from him and rolled her eyes. She looked over at the box wondering how she was going to get to the screwdriver without him knowing. Her eyes settled on a heavy vase next to it. She smiled to herself, as she pictured herself picking it up and smashing it on Amenemhet's head.

She flinched when Amenemhet grabbed her chin and gently turned her head to him. She remained as impassive as she could while he rubbed his finger up and down her cheek.

"You're very beautiful, Rose," he murmured.

Rose smiled politely.

"Thanks," she said.

Rose's eyes widened when Amenemhet leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. She was glad the Doctor wasn't around to witness it. She was sure it would have killed him inside. It took all she had not to retch when Amenemhet stuck out his tongue and began to gain entry into her mouth. Glancing sideways at the box, she forced herself to open her mouth and let him in. She flinched as he put his hands on her shirt and began to pull it up over her head. She pulled away from his mouth and stared at him in shock.

Amenemhet frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Rose gulped. She had to control herself. Both the Doctor and her life depended on it.

"I...I just want to wait to do that. I'd rather get to know you better first," she said.

Amenemhet stared at her silently, and Rose got a twinge in the back of her mind, as she noticed his calculating expression. She had a funny feeling that he knew exactly what she was up to and it made her nervous. Amenemhet smiled and nodded.

"Very well," he said. "Perhaps you would like some refreshment while we get to know one another better?"

Rose paused, wary of him. She had travelled with the Doctor long enough to know that you had to be very careful when someone offered you something to eat; especially someone who didn't have your best interests at heart. Still, accepting his offer meant he would leave the room, and she would have enough time to get the screwdriver back. She nodded.

"That sounds good. I'm thirsty," she said.

Amenemhet nodded.

"Then wait right here. I'll be back with some wine," he said.

Rose kept herself calm, as Amenemhet leaned over and gave her a kiss on the mouth. He stroked her cheek and then rising off the bed, he walked to the door, opened it, and went out.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief when he closed it behind him. She waited a moment to make sure he didn't come back in and when she was sure the coast was clear, she quickly hurried over to the box, opened it and got out the sonic screwdriver. She paused as she stared at it. Where could she hide it? She was afraid to hide it somewhere on her body since Amenemhet had been getting physical with her. Short of cramming it up her anus, she couldn't think of somewhere where he wouldn't be able to feel it on her. Rose shook her head. This whole game was getting too dangerous. She couldn't afford to wait and pretend any longer. She had to take a chance and get back to the Doctor. At least she had to try to get the screwdriver to him, so that it was no longer in danger of being in Amenemhet's hands. Rose frowned. Would the Doctor even have the strength to make an escape? She swallowed hard when she thought of his battered and bruised body. She know she would have to assist him, and it would be slow going getting out, but she didn't care. As long as he was by her side, she wasn't afraid and even if they did end up getting killed, at least they would be together...or at least she would be near the Doctor when she died, since she figured he would just regenerate into another body. At any rate, she would be with him and that's all that mattered to her.

Taking a deep, steady breath, she crept quietly to the door. She paused a moment and put her ear to it. Hearing nothing, she slowly opened the door and peeked out. She cursed silently when she saw a guard standing in front of the door with his back to her. Just as she feared. Still, she couldn't worry about it now. All that mattered was getting back to the Doctor. Looking around the room, her eyes settled on a solid gold statue of Bastet, the cat goddess, which was sitting in the corner of the room. Smiling, Rose tucked the screwdriver in the waistband of her trousers, as she crept over and picked the statue up. Slowly she eased her way back to the door and peeked out. She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that the guard was still in the same place and her hand tightened around the neck of the statue, as she slowly opened the door wider. She paused a moment, raised the statue over her head and tightened her grip on it, and then with as much power as she could muster, she brought it down hard on the top of the guard's head. She smirked when the guard gave out a groan and fell to the floor.

"That's for the Doctor, you bastard," she said to him.

Gripping the statue around the neck, she stepped over the guard's body and quickly hurried down the hall towards the dungeons.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Amenemhet smirked, as he finished pouring a glass of wine for Rose. Reaching into a pouch tied around the hem of his loincloth, he brought out a small vial of sleeping potion and poured it into the glass.

"After you drink this, you'll fall into a deep sleep, and I'll have my way with you," he muttered to himself. "I might even bring in your lover to watch. I..."

He paused. He swore he had just heard someone call his name. He looked to his left at an open window and stared at it.

"Amenemhet"

His eyes widened when he heard a deep voice say his name. Fingering his dagger, he went over to the window and looked out into the darkness. He frowned when he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Shrugging, he stuck his head back in.

"Just my imagination," he muttered as he walked back to the goblet.

"Amenemhet."

He stopped short. There it was again. He turned and faced the window.

"Who's there?" he called out.

"Amenemhet."

His eyes widened. The voice sounded like it was directly behind him. He turned...and stood frozen in horror and disbelief at what he saw.

"By the gods, it can't be," Amenemhet said softly, as he stared at the creature before him.

"Amenemhet, you have sinned," the creature said.

Amenemhet shook his head.

"No... I...I haven't."

"Yes, you have, Amenemhet. You and your men have imprisoned and tortured innocent people. All of you have offended the gods and you must be punished."

Amenemhet backed up against the table, as the creature advanced on him.

"No, please, I was only doing my duty," he protested weakly.

"Your heart is impure. You have blackened it with your sins. As punishment, you and your men must forfeit your hearts to me and spend eternity in limbo; doomed to wander forever, never finding peace."

"No, no... Please...I will do anything to make up for what I have done. Please do not punish me. I am sorry. Please I beg of you, have mercy on me. I..."

Amenemhet let out a horrified scream when the creature pounced on him.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Rose paused halfway to the dungeon when she suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream echoing through the corridor behind her. It lasted for all of thirty seconds before fading away and leaving the palace in silence again.

"This way! The screams came from this direction!"

Rose looked back when she heard voices and people running toward her. Looking around she dashed down an adjacent corridor, as the other soldiers came running down the hallway. Flattening herself up against the wall, she held her breath, as the soldiers ran past her, spears raised, down the corridor. She waited a moment listening for the sound of any movement. Satisfied that everyone had passed, she cautiously inched back into the corridor, and with a sigh of relief at seeing no one around, she ran off toward the dungeons.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ahmose stared at the Doctor, as he stood and looked out the cell door.

"What was that?" Ahmose asked him.

"Offhand, I'd say it was someone screaming," the Doctor replied.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Whoever had screamed had been male. At least it wasn't Rose. But, he knew that meant nothing. Rose could still be in danger. It made him even more determined to escape; and with the guards all investigating the scream, he had a chance. Now if only he could find a way to pick the lock. He groaned when he heard someone coming back down the hall.

"Damn, one of them would have to come back," he muttered.

He gave out an angry sigh. What did he have to do around here to catch a break? Desperate, he considered trying to convince the guard to let him go free. It was a long shot, but he had no other option. As he stood at the door trying to think about what to say to the guard to let him go, his eyes widened, as he saw Rose come into view. A relieved smile spread over his face, as Rose sped up and ran towards his door.

"Oh Rose, you're alright!" he said, overjoyed.

He reached through the bars and grabbed her hand. Rose smiled, as he brought it through the bars and kissed it gently.

"Are you okay? He didn't…"

"No, he didn't do anything except kiss me."

The Doctor's eyes darkened at that.

"That bastard," he growled.

He reached through the bars and ran his fingers across her lips. Rose closed her eyes and kissed his fingers gently.

"Did you find the sonic screwdriver?" The Doctor asked.

Rose's eyes opened.

"Yup, I did."

She reached down into the hem of her pants and brought the sonic screwdriver out. The Doctor beamed.

"That's my girl!" he said.

He stroked her cheek.

"I knew you could do it," he said proudly. "I told you before I only took the best, and this is the proof of that."

He gave Rose's hand an affectionate squeeze and then, letting go, he backed up a bit, adjusted the settings on his sonic screwdriver, and aimed it at the lock. To his relief, he heard the lock click, and he grinned as he opened the door and embraced Rose.

"I don't want to ever let you go," Rose whispered.

The Doctor chuckled.

"My sentiments exactly," He said.

He put his hands on the side of her face.

"Are you ready to leave ancient Egypt yet?"

"Lord, yes!"

The Doctor chuckled.

"Well, I'm afraid we have to stay a bit longer," he said, gesturing back to Ahmose.

"Well, then I want to spend the entire time here strapped to your body. I don't want to leave your side for one minute," she said.

The Doctor giggled.

"Believe me, I'm all for that," he said. "I don't want you to leave my side either."

He embraced her. Rose laid her head on his shoulder and looked over at Ahmose who was still standing inside the cell staring at them in disbelief.

"Come on," she urged. "It's okay. Come on out."

The Doctor looked back at Ahmose, as he took a tentative step forward. He looked at the Doctor.

"How did you open the door?" he asked, confused.

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other.

"Um…I'm a magician," the Doctor said, winking at Rose.

Ahmose frowned.

"Then, why didn't you open the door earlier?"

The Doctor showed him the sonic screwdriver.

"I had to have the magic wand that they stole from me," he said. "That's what my brave, little Rose went and got."

Ahmose nodded. Rose frowned.

"He believes your explanation?" she whispered to him.

The Doctor grinned.

"Rose, the ruler of Egypt is considered a living God and most of the other gods they worship are half human, half animal. Not to mention that people believe the sun god travels through the sky during the day in a flying ship; goes underground through a demon infested Hell at night and the goddess of the sky gives birth to him each morning, so he can continue his journey. So, if people believe all this, don't you think they would buy that I'm a magician who owns a magic wand?"

"I guess you have a point," Rose said.

"I course I do. I know what I'm talking about. I'm surprised you still question my wisdom."

Rose grinned and slapped his arm playfully while the Doctor chuckled.

He looked back at Ahmose.

"Well, I think that it would be a good idea to get going before Amenemhet and his men get back from investigating that scream."

"You heard that too?"

The Doctor nodded.

Rose raised her eyebrow.

"You want to investigate, I guess."

The Doctor grinned and nodded.

Rose stared at his body.

"But you're injured."

The Doctor smiled.

"I'll be alright. I keep telling you, I've had worse."

He squeezed her hand.

"I'm okay. Now that you're with me, I won't feel a thing."

He looked over at Ahmose.

"Ahmose, if you want to go with us, that's fine, but I think you should go home and check on your family and make sure they're okay," he said. "Give us directions to your house, and we'll be there as soon as we check out what's happened here."

Ahmose stared at Rose.

"Shouldn't she go with me? After all, she is a girl."

The Doctor bit his lip to keep from laughing as Rose glared at him.

"I may be a girl, but I can more than handle myself," Rose spat out.

"Rose."

Rose looked up at the Doctor's amused grin.

"Well, I can." She muttered as he squeezed her hand affectionately.

The Doctor chuckled and looked over at Ahmose.

"Trust me; Rose will be perfectly fine with me," he said

Ahmose shrugged.

"As you wish," he said. "I just think it's very unusual for a girl to be helping out a man like this. A woman's place is in the home."

"Weeeeeell, Rose is a very unusual woman, and you'll find both her and I don't do domestic. Do we, Rose?"

"Not on your life," Rose said, nodding.

Ahmose shrugged.

"I will not argue with you then. I'll do as you say and run home and make sure my family is okay and prepare a room for you when you get back from this…investigation."

"Good man. Rose and I will escort you out and make sure that no guards recapture you and then we have a little snooping to do, don't we?"

"Yup, we certainly do."

They turned with Ahmose and walked out of the dungeons towards the front entrance.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

After seeing Ahmose to the entrance and making sure he got out safely, The Doctor and Rose turned and headed back towards the sound of the screams. As they walked along, Rose walked behind the Doctor and stared at his back. He still hadn't found any clothes to put on, and she winced, as she stared at the whip marks and dried blood marring his back. She wondered if the Doctor really was telling the truth when he said it didn't bother him. She knew that he often lied about such things to her and to others. She chalked it up to his ego and his wanting to be the macho and stoic Time Lord who could take any punishment meted out to him and come through it unscathed. Personally, Rose thought it was ridiculous for him to act that way. She loved him with all her heart. In her eyes, he wasn't any less of a man if he showed some weakness. She didn't expect anyone she knew to go through life acting like nothing fazed them and that included the Doctor. But she knew that this was the way he was and nothing she could do or say would change him. She only hoped that he really was okay. She hated to think that his wounds might become infected. She made a mental note to get his back cleaned up as soon as she could.

She stopped when the Doctor raised his hand.

"We need to be as quiet as we can from here on out," he whispered. "I'm pretty sure we're getting close, and I want to be very careful in case Amenemhet or any of the soldiers are about. I don't want to go back to that cell any time soon."

Rose nodded in agreement. They both crept along keeping their eyes and ears open for any sound or movement that was out of the ordinary.

They neared a corner. The Doctor held up his hand and Rose stopped. She watched while he tentatively stuck his head around the corner to check for any soldiers.

The Doctor brought his head back around the corner and looked at Rose.

"Are there any soldiers?" she asked.

"Yup."

Rose's eyes widened.

"So we run?"

"Nope."

Rose frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because they're dead."

Rose raised her eyebrows.

"They…are?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded and motioned her to follow him. Rose followed him around the corner and gasped at what she saw. Several soldiers lay silently on the floor of a corridor; their faces frozen in an expression of terror, and to Rose's disgust, a gaping hole in each of their chests. She backed up feeling like she was about to puke, as the Doctor knelt down beside the nearest soldier and calmly, impassively studied him. He looked up at Rose.

"His heart is gone," he said.

Rose edged closer to the Doctor.

"It is?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Yes, and judging from the wounds it looks like some sort of animal did this."

He bent down closer to the wound and studied it.

"Teeth marks…yes, definitely an animal," he muttered.

"What kind do ya think?" Rose asked, coming up beside him.

The Doctor unconsciously tried to reach into his jacket for his reading glasses. He cursed in Gallifreyan when he remembered he was still naked.

"Damn him. Pair of glasses aren't cheap," he muttered.

He looked up at Rose.

"You didn't happen to see my clothes when you were out?" he asked, hopefully.

Rose shook her head.

The Doctor let out another Gallifreyan curse and shook his head.

"Good thing I have some spares," he said.

He glanced down at the soldier's loincloth and looked at his face.

"Well, mate, I guess you won't be needing this anymore, so if you don't mind I'll take it from you as soon, as I'm done examining you," he said.

He let out a grumble, as he bent down next to the wound. Rose crouched down beside him, as he studied it briefly and leaned back up on his knees.

"Crocodile."

Rose stared at him.

"I'm sorry?" she asked.

"Crocodile. The teeth marks look like they were made by a crocodile," the Doctor explained.

Rose's eyes widened, and she glanced around for any sign of a crocodile. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw none in sight.

The Doctor noticed her anxiety.

"I wouldn't worry. Crocodiles rarely come this far inland," he said. "They usually stay in the water or on the banks beside it."

Rose frowned.

"Then how come this soldier has crocodile teeth marks on his chest?" she asked.

"Not sure," the Doctor said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I could be mistaken. I'm not an expert on crocodiles, so I can't be certain. But that's what it looks like to me."

"Well, could it be something else?" Rose asked.

The Doctor thought.

"Well, the only other thing I could think of is a jackal, but they're scavengers," he said. "No, I'm pretty sure these teeth marks were made by a crocodile, but why this far inland and why is only the heart disturbed? Why didn't the crocodile eat the rest of the body, or drag it away to the Nile?"

He glanced back at the other soldiers. Rising, he walked among each of them checking their wounds. Nodding, he looked back at Rose.

"All identical. The crocodile, if that's what it was, took only the heart. Very peculiar."

He rubbed his ear as he muttered, "Very peculiar indeed."

Rose watched the Doctor, as he stared down at one of the soldiers. Looking down at the soldier beside her, she gently rolled him over and took off his loincloth. She grunted, as she pulled it completely off his body.

"Doctor, here's his loincloth for you," she said.

She looked up and frowned when she noticed the Doctor was nowhere in sight.

"Doctor?" she asked, glancing around.

"In here."

Rose looked back down the corridor when she heard the Doctor's voice coming from a room halfway down the hall. Tucking the loincloth under her arm, she weaved her way through the dead bodies towards the room. Reaching the room, she stood in the doorway and saw the Doctor standing with her back to her staring at something.

"Doctor?"

"Rose…come here."

Rose frowned, as she came further into the room. She walked up to the Doctor's side and let out a gasp when she noticed Amenemhet's dead body sprawled out on the floor in front of them with the same look of horror and gaping wound that the other soldiers had. She stared at his body and then glanced up at the Doctor. She noticed he was staring at Amenemhet's body with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Got what you deserved, you bastard."

Rose's eyes widened. The Doctor had muttered that quietly under his breath. She guessed he was saying that only to himself, but she had heard it too. She stared at the gloating look on the Doctor's face and felt her blood run cold. She loved him so much, but there were some things about his personality that disturbed her. She had seen how vengeful her old Doctor had been towards his enemies. She remembered how shocked she had felt when he had wanted to blow away the Dalek in Van Statten's compound even though by the time he had caught up to them, it was no longer a threat. When he regenerated, he had let go of a lot of the darkness he had once possessed, but there was still a little bit left that came out from time to time. She understood that he had been through a lot in his ten lifetimes, and she couldn't even begin to know how he felt without trading places with him, but, just the same, his cold heartedness and lack of mercy towards his enemies was unnerving to her. She was so glad she was on the same side as he was. The more time she spent with him, the more she understood why the Daleks feared him so. The boyish baby face he possessed belied the fact that he would give no quarter to anyone who dared screw with him, or the ones closest to him. She snuggled closer to him and felt him put his arm on her back.

"He can't hurt you now," he said softly.

She looked up at him and saw the gloating look in his eyes was replaced by the familiar, loving look he always gave her. As she stared at his warm brown eyes, she felt love swell in her heart. He was thinking of her. He always put her first in everything, and it made her heart skip a beat knowing that someone cared about her that much. She smiled, as the Doctor wrapped his arm protectively around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Do you think he was the one we heard screaming?" Rose asked.

"Probably," the Doctor said, the smirk returning to his face.

As Rose stared at the smirk, she imagined him thinking, "Bastard screamed like a little girl." in his head.

He stared at him quietly for a few minutes and then he looked down at Rose.

"Well, I think we better get going before someone discovers these bodies and alerts more soldiers."

He pulled her closer and rubbed her side.

"Besides, I'm exhausted, and I bet you are too. I think Ahmose's house sounds pretty good right about now, eh?"

Rose nodded. She handed him the loincloth. The Doctor held it up and looked at it.

"Not my first choice of clothing," he said, staring at it. "Still, I guess it's better than being naked. And it'll be a lot cooler than my suit in the desert heat."

He stared at Rose's clothes.

"And when we get to Ahmose's place, you are going to ask his wife if she has something suitable. We already stand out with our white complexions without you walking around in jeans and a hoodie."

Rose nodded. She watched, as the Doctor started to wrap the loincloth around his body.

"Wait," she said.

The Doctor looked at her.

Rose bit her lip.

"We…we have to get this cleaned up," she said, pointing at his back.

"Rose, we don't have time. We don't know if there are any more soldiers in the area. We have to seize this opportunity and leave now before we end up back in that dungeon."

Rose swallowed hard.

"But…it could get infected."

The Doctor's face melted. He embraced Rose and held her close.

"It'll be alright, angel," he said, kissing her cheek. "It can wait until we get to Ahmose's, then I'll get it cleaned up, I promise."

He smiled at her, as Rose took the loincloth and helped him get it on.

"There," he said, as he finished tying it around his body. "That's better. Now let's get out of here before anything else happens."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"Knock, knock."

Ahmose looked into the front room and saw the Doctor and Rose standing at the front door. He smiled.

"Come in, Doctor," he said.

The Doctor nodded, and he and Rose stepped inside.

Ahmose stepped into the front room.

"I trust things went smoothly," he said.

The Doctor glanced at Rose.

"Yeah, we didn't encounter any resistance."

"Thank the gods."

"Because everyone was dead."

Ahmose stared at him.

"Dead?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Yup, some animal got a hold of them. Ripped their hearts clean out of their bodies."

Ahmose frowned.

"An animal attacked them and took their hearts?" he asked. "Do you know what it could have been, Doctor?"

The Doctor scratched his ear.

"Well, as far as I can tell. It looks like a crocodile did it. Although, as I was telling Rose, that would be highly irregular since crocodiles don't come that far inland, nor do they usually take only the hearts of their victims. I…"

He paused, as Rose tapped his shoulder. He looked at her and noticed her pointing to Ahmose. He looked at him and saw that Ahmose was almost white with shock. He glanced at Rose, as he grabbed an amulet around his neck and muttered a prayer.

"Ahmose, something you wanna share with the rest of the class?" the Doctor said.

"Ammit," Ahmose murmured.

They watched, as Ahmose, face white as snow, excused himself from the room.

"Ahmose?" Rose called after him. "You alright? What's going on? What or who is this Ammit?"

Rose frowned, as she got no response. She glanced up at the Doctor and saw that he was thinking intently.

"Ammit," he muttered. "Where have I heard that before?"

Rose watched him as he muttered, "Ammit, Ammit, Ammit." repeatedly to himself.

Suddenly, the Doctor paused, as a light bulb went on in his head. His eyes widened with unrestrained glee.

"Of course! From the Egyptian book of the dead," he said, overjoyed that he had figured it out.

Rose looked at him.

"Book of the dead?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded.

"The book of the dead is a series of magical spells and information that Egyptians use to help navigate the underworld after they die," he explained. "It describes various demons you must face and what you must say to pass them to get to the hall of judgment. Once you get to the hall of judgment, Anubis weighs your heart on scales and if you are deemed a good soul, you pass into paradise. If not...then your heart, which they believe is the seat of your soul, is eaten by Ammit. He is a beast that sits by the scales and waits for Anubis to judge a soul wicked. Once you are judged wicked and Ammit eats your heart, you cease to exist. Your soul is lost forever. And…according to depictions in the book of the dead of Ammit, he has the hindquarters of a hippo, the torso of a leopard and…the head of a crocodile."

Rose frowned.

"But surely…that can't be it, Doctor. That's just a myth."

The Doctor grinned.

"Ah, but a lot of myths, and folklore, and superstitions have some basis in fact," he said. "You humans do tend to exaggerate things, and an actual event that happened far in the past could have been altered through the years by people getting facts wrong as the tale was retold."

"So…there really is a hippo, leopard, crocodile thing that goes around eating evil people's hearts?" Rose said.

The Doctor shrugged.

"After all the things you and I have seen together, don't you think there might be a possibility of that?"

Rose nodded.

"You have a point," she said." So then what could this Ammit thing really be if it's something that's gotten distorted into a myth by humans over time? You think it might be an alien?"

The Doctor shrugged.

"I've not heard of any alien species that resembles Ammit, but you never know."

"And, this Ammit, if it's an alien, came to Earth to…devour evil people's hearts."

The Doctor shrugged.

"Wouldn't be the first alien who landed here and did odd things," he said.

He paused.

"Normally, if this Ammit creature was here to kill evildoers, I would say more power to em, makes my job a hell of a lot easier. The problem is, we don't know for sure if it's only targeting the wicked."

Rose's eyes widened, as a disturbing thought came to her mind.

"Doctor, what if this Ammit thing killed Femi?" she asked.

The Doctor's eyes darkened.

"Then we will deal with it accordingly," he said, angrily.

They looked over, as Ahmose entered the room.

"I'm so sorry, my friends. I was just so shaken by what you said. I needed a moment to compose myself."

The Doctor held up his hand.

"That's okay, Rose and I were just talking amongst ourselves," he said.

Ahmose looked behind him, as a beautiful, dark skinned woman entered the room and stood beside him.

"This is my wife, Amisi," he said.

"Hello," Rose said, waving.

The Doctor bowed.

"An honor to meet you," he said, smiling.

Amisi nodded her head in reply. She looked at Ahmose.

"Well…are you going to ask them in, or are you just going to let them stay in the receiving room?" she chided him.

Ahmose coughed, embarrassed.

"Of course…please come inside. My wife is preparing supper, and we will show you to your rooms."

The Doctor and Rose nodded. Grasping each other's hands, they followed their new friends further into their home.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

The Doctor plopped down on the bed in his room with a satisfied sigh. Granted the bed wasn't all that comfy. It was made of wood with no mattress and only a neck support for a pillow, but compared to the cold, hard floor of the dungeon, he would take it.

He lay back, trying out the bed and winced, as the hard wood pressed against his wounds making them hurt. He cursed Amenemhet and his soldiers in Gallifreyan and hoped that wherever they were, they were receiving justice for what they did to him and Rose.

He turned his head when he saw Rose standing in the doorway holding a big bowl and a little jar in her hands. He leaned back up, as he stared at her. Her jeans and hoodie were gone and in its place was a long, sheer linen dress that accentuated her body perfectly. The Doctor stared, awestruck, at Rose.

Rose looked at the Doctor. As she stared at the expression on his face, she couldn't help but remember the time she had worn the Victorian dress and her old Doctor had stared at her the same way. Her heart ached when she remembered his voice saying, "You're beautiful" in her mind. She loved this Doctor and wouldn't trade him for the world, but sometimes she missed the old one and wished she could see him again, if only for a moment.

"Oh, my angel…you are a vision."

On the other hand, her old Doctor was never as open and expressive as this Doctor was which was one of the many things that she loved about him. She smiled her thanks, as the Doctor stared appreciatively.

"There's no door so I couldn't knock," she said, after a moment. "I hope I didn't interrupt something."

"Not at all. I was just testing out the bed. And, I wouldn't expect there to be a door in this house. Only the rich can afford them. Wood isn't exactly plentiful here; they have to ship it in from neighboring countries," he said.

He gestured to the bowl and the jar.

"What's that?" he asked.

"This is stuff to clean you up with. I told you, I'm not about to see you get an infection from those wounds."

The Doctor groaned.

"Ugh, and just when I got my body to stop hurting too," he moaned, as Rose came further into the room.

He undid his loincloth and slipped out of it while Rose sat the bowl and jar on a nearby table. She reached into the bowl, which contained water and grabbed a piece of linen cloth that had been soaking in it. She wrung out the excess water, as the Doctor slid onto his stomach and knelt by the bed.

"What's in the little jar?" The Doctor enquired.

"Some kind of healing ointment. Amisi swears by it, I guess. I'm not sure what's in it, but she said it'll heal ya, and at this point, I'm not gonna argue," she replied.

The Doctor nodded and turning to face Rose, he lay his head down on the bed, as Rose gingerly put the linen cloth against his back.

Rose grimaced when she noticed the Doctor's pained expression, as she pressed the cloth against his injured body.

"Sorry," she said.

"It can't be helped," the Doctor replied. "Actually, it feels really good now."

"I'll be really careful."

The Doctor smiled.

"I know you will," He said.

He watched her face, as she slowly cleaned the blood off his back and buttocks. His hearts ached when he saw the pained look in her eyes and raising his hand, he began to stroke her cheek.

"Oh, Doctor," Rose murmured, as she cleaned the blood off him. "My poor Doctor."

The Doctor smiled and moved his hand from her cheek to her hair, stroking it.

As she continued to clean his wounds, Rose suddenly felt a compulsion. As a tear fell down her cheek, she leaned forward and gently kissed one of the whip marks. As tears fell down her cheeks, she rained kiss after kiss down on the Doctor's wounds wishing with all her heart that she could just make them vanish. As she continued to kiss his back, she felt the Doctor's hand leave her hair and begin to stoke her side.

"Rose," he whispered.

He laid his hand on her back, as Rose began to weep.

"Shhhh," he soothed. "Shhhhh, don't cry."

"Oh God, Doctor. What if they had killed you?" she sobbed.

"Shhhhh, they didn't. I'm here," he replied softly.

Rose regained enough of her composure to continue cleaning his wounds. The Doctor wiped the tearstains away from her face. Then, returning to her back, he began to rub up and down slowly, soothing her with whispered words of love and devotion, as Rose struggled to keep from losing it again.

As she continued to clean, the Doctor raised his head and glanced over his shoulder.

"See, it's not as bad as it looks," he said reassuringly. "The dried blood made it look a lot worse than it was."

"Yeah…I…guess…you're right," she said, choking on her words.

Rose sobbed, as the Doctor stroked her cheek.

"It doesn't even hurt anymore," he said trying once again to reassure her and stop her tears. "And what you're doing is making it a thousand times better."

Rose managed a tiny smile at that. She worked her way down to his buttocks, as the Doctor went back to massaging her back.

The Doctor stared at her face trying to ascertain her thoughts, as Rose put the linen cloth into the water and wrung it out. He could tell just by watching her stare at the whip marks on his buttocks that tormented thoughts were going through her mind. Curiosity finally got the better of him.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

Rose swallowed hard.

"These marks," she said, in a shaky voice. "Are…gonna be on your body…for the rest of…your life."

The Doctor ached, as Rose resumed weeping.

"Rose, come here. Come to me," he gently urged.

"Doctor…"

"Come to me, angel," he interrupted, grabbing her arm and gently urging her to come closer to his face.

Dropping the cloth back in the bowl, Rose slowly moved on her knees towards the Doctor who was staring at her with a mixture of concern and love. He turned, so that he was lying on his right side, and he embraced Rose, as she fell into his arms, sobbing. Saying nothing, he held her firmly to his chest, as he let the tears run their course. When he heard her begin to calm down, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"The TARDIS med bay has a machine that will help to heal my wounds quickly," he said softly. "Tomorrow after I eat breakfast here, I will go back to the TARDIS and use it. I want to check and make sure she's okay, anyhow."

Rose gulped.

"Will it erase all the injuries from your body?" she asked.

The Doctor laid his cheek on the top of her head.

"It'll get rid of most of them, yes. But, there will be some scarring. The scars will be faint, but they'll be there for as long as I have this body."

He rubbed her back, as she let out a sob.

"Oh God," she moaned.

The Doctor kissed the top of her head.

"You're safe, Rose. That's all that matters. I went through all that to protect you and knowing you escaped from that place unharmed makes my torture worth it."

Rose was silent for a moment, as the Doctor studied her face. Finally, she raised her eyes and looked into his.

"You…you said…that you'd been…tortured before?" she got out slowly.

He nodded, as he cupped her face with his hand.

Rose swallowed hard.

"Did…did your other…the life before this one…did you get…tortured then too?"

The Doctor hesitated for a moment and then, nodded.

Rose put her hand on his cheek.

"Did you…have scars on your body?"

The Doctor nodded and pulled her closer to him, as she sobbed.

Rose squeezed her eyes shut. The thought of the Doctor silently carrying around scars on his body along with the memories of his torture tormented her. She wondered if all of his lives had suffered torture at one point or another. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she buried her face in his neck weeping for her brave Doctor. Her beloved who had endured more suffering than anyone should have to in all his lifetimes. Her angel who courageously endured all kinds of torture and had the strength to pick himself up afterwards and press on with his mission of saving lives and making a difference in the universe. Her heart ached, as she imagined him all alone in the TARDIS suffering in silence, having no one to lean on and pour his heart out to; not having any shoulder to cry on or someone to lean on for support. Having to pretend that everything was all right when inside his hearts ached for a friend who would understand and be able to truly share in what he had gone through. Thinking all this made Rose even more determined to stay with him for the rest of her life. She never wanted to know that she had left the Doctor alone and tormented. She wanted to be there for him, as he had been there for her. They were each other's strength now, each other's rock. She couldn't imagine leaving him now, and she was sure he felt the same way. She was in it for the long haul, come what may, and nothing short of death would ever make her leave his side.

The Doctor gently kissed her cheek, interrupting her thoughts.

"You gonna put that ointment stuff on me?" he whispered. "Or are you, Rose Tyler, going to actually risk infection?"

Rose looked up at him and couldn't suppress a smile, as he gave her an impish grin and winked at her.

"Gee, I don't know," she said, unable to resist teasing back. "We don't know what's in this ointment. You sure you wanna risk it?"

The Doctor's eyes sparkled with love when he saw she was returning his teasing. He always loved it when they did this. He enjoyed the playful banter they always engaged in, and his heart soared knowing that he was helping Rose feel better and helping her to forget about his injuries.

Raising his eyebrow, he grinned at her.

"Oh what the hell, let's throw all caution to the wind," he said, playfully. "I'm the Oncoming Storm, no wussy ointment is gonna intimidate me."

He beamed, and his hearts swelled with love when Rose giggled at that.

"Okay, you asked for it," she said, grabbing the jar.

She paused and stared at it, as the Doctor stroked her cheek.

"Um…Do you know what they did put in their ointments?" she asked.

The Doctor stroked her cheek, as he thought.

"Um…I know they had a lot of different herbs that they used and they were actually pretty good at healing people," he said. "Ancient Egyptians did have an extensive knowledge of herbs and their uses."

He took the jar from Rose and gazed at the contents. He took a sniff and made a face.

"Ah! I'm glad that's going on my back," he said.

Rose raised her eyebrow.

"What? No tasting, mister oral fixation?" she asked.

He grinned.

"Nah, judging from the smell even I'm not brave enough to taste that stuff," he said.

He rolled back onto his stomach and laid his head on his arm. He smiled up at her, as she leaned in and kissed his forehead.

"I love you," she said softly.

"I love you too," he replied.

She smiled, and the Doctor watched, as she moved back down to his back. As he watched her dip her fingers into the ointment, he had a thought and the impish grin returned to his face.

"Hey, Rose…"

"Yeah."

"It may interest you to know that the ancient Egyptians used to use crocodile dung as a contraceptive."

He snickered when Rose paused with her finger in the jar and a look of disgust on her face.

"Okay…that was way too much information for me," she said, as the Doctor giggled.

She paused again, and the Doctor's eyes lit with merriment, as he could tell she was working that fact over in her mind.

"Okay," she finally said. "Who first thought of jamming crocodile dung up inside them to stop pregnancies, and how do they clean it out when they're done?"

The Doctor snickered when Rose eyed him.

"Damn it, Doctor," she said, swatting at his leg. "Now I'm gonna be thinking of crocodile dung all night."

The Doctor gave her an innocent look.

"Hey, don't blame me. I can't help it if humans don't have mastery over all their thoughts."

He grinned, as Rose took another swat at his leg. He smiled at her, and she chuckled softly, as she began to apply the ointment to his back.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

After about a half hour, Rose finished applying the ointment to the Doctor's back. He gave her a grateful kiss while she gathered up her things.

"Amisi gave me her room for tonight," Rose said to him. "It's down the hall. She's going to go sleep on the roof with Ahmose. I guess this is his bed you're sleeping in. I told Amisi that I didn't want her to sleep up there, but she insisted. I just hate turning them out of their own bedrooms.

"That's their decision though," the Doctor said. "Egyptians sleep outside all the time. It never rains here, and it's very cool and comfortable at night. They'll be alright."

He gave her a kiss.

"Just relax, and don't worry about me. I'm sure we'll be safe. If anyone comes here, I'll handle them, so just go to sleep and get some rest. It's been a long day for all of us.

Rose nodded. She laid her hand against the Doctor's cheek while he rubbed her side. Then, slowly, she rose and headed towards Amisi's bed.

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The Doctor lay awake staring at the ceiling. He was mulling things over in his mind. What had killed Amenemhet and his men? He was sure it wasn't Ammit, or at least Ammit, as the Egyptians understood him. He considered Rose's theory that it might be an alien. He had once watched the Stargate movie where an alien had possessed a boy, posed as the sun god Re, and enlisted ordinary humans as soldiers. The soldiers posed as Anubis and Horus to fool the humans Re had enslaved and keep them in line. It was an intriguing theory. He knew that aliens had helped humans in the past when they had been more accepting of them. But, to his knowledge, no aliens who visited Earth, and lived among the humans, had deliberately passed themselves off as a god, although, that didn't stop humans from thinking they were, and worshipping them.

If this Ammit was an alien, what was the purpose in devouring human hearts? More importantly, was it acting on its own, or was it in the service of someone else? And, if so, what would its master have to gain by killing humans?

He continued to ponder these questions and others, while the hours passed by. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't realize at first that someone was in the room until they were right beside the bed. He started and rolled onto his side.

"It's me," Rose said.

The Doctor relaxed and rolled back onto his back.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I couldn't sleep. The bed is uncomfortable and it's too quiet. I'm used to the TARDIS," she said.

The Doctor scooted over and tugged on her hand. Rose lay down on the bed and turned on the side facing him. She reached through the darkness, found his face, and rubbed his cheek.

"What are you thinking of?" she asked.

"Just thinking about this Ammit, and what it might be," he said, softly.

"You can't sleep?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"No, I'm not tired," he said. "I'd rather spend my time trying to figure out what this thing is, and how to stop it."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Just what you suggested, that it might be an alien that people are mistaking for a god."

"Do you think it might really be a god?"

The Doctor frowned.

"I don't think so. I mean, the idea of a crocodile, hippo, leopard thing eating the hearts of the dead seems very farfetched to me."

"Slitheen seemed farfetched to me, until I saw them."

"Yes, well, Slitheen aren't running around posing as gods. I get your meaning, that there are many strange things in the universe, but I really don't buy the concept of Ammit. If there is an afterlife, I don't really see souls being forced to pass through a dark, dangerous underworld after death and having their hearts weighed on gigantic scales by a jackal-headed god, while a ibis-headed god writes the verdict down, and if they're deemed unworthy, a crocodile thing eats it, and that's that. Nah, it's gotta be something else."

He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Problem is, while we sit here and think this over, more lives might be lost. If this thing did kill Femi, then I don't want anyone else to have to go through the anguish of having someone they love die. It's bad enough Ahmose and Amisi lost their daughter. They've been so kind to us, taking us in, and feeding, and giving us a place to stay. I want to return the favor by finding out who killed their daughter and why, and then, stop them from killing anyone else again."

Rose nodded. The Doctor pulled her closer.

"But, enough talk. Get some sleep. I'm right here, and I'll see you in the morning."

"I love you, Doctor."

"I love you, too. Good night."

"Night."

Rose closed her eyes, and sighed, as she snuggled up against the Doctor. The Doctor rubbed her back, lulling her to sleep, while he continued to think and try to find a solution to the problem he was now faced with.

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"Rose?"

"Hmmm?"

"It's morning, Rose. Ahmose and Amisi are up. I can hear them. We better get up too. Egyptians don't sleep in, as a rule."

"Crap," Rose muttered.

The Doctor chuckled.

"You can take a nap when we go to the TARDIS later today. It'll take about an hour or two to heal my back, so that'll give you some time to rest. But, for now, get your lazy bum up."

He laughed when Rose flipped him off. She opened her eyes and groaned, as she sat up on the side of the bed.

"Ugh, wooden beds suck," she said. "I don't know how they slept on them or used those wooden head rests. I tried that thing, and after two seconds, I had a crick in my neck."

"Well, that's because you aren't used to it. That's all these people know. They grew up sleeping on the beds and using the headrests, so it doesn't bother them."

"Just the same, we need to introduce them to feather beds and fluffy pillows, so we can have something nice to lie on while we're here."

"Nonsense, I would never introduce an object into a culture before it's time."

Rose eyed him, as he sat up beside her.

"So, the whole thing about introducing the banana daiquiri to France and giving Tommy a scooter that hadn't been invented yet, those were just accidental things, eh?"

The Doctor sighed.

"How come you are able to counter everything I say?"

"Because I can," Rose said, smugly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, get a move on, Tyler before they come back here looking for us."

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Once they were up and out of the bedroom, the Doctor found Ahmose, sat down on the floor, and spoke to him while Rose went to help Amisi in the kitchen.

"Your daughter, Femi, I assume she lived with you?" the Doctor asked.

Ahmose nodded.

"Yes, I also have a younger daughter, but Amisi sent her to stay with her father after I was arrested. And now, that Ammit is stalking us, she will stay there until it is safe to come home."

"This, Ammit, has there been any other instances where he has come among the living and killed people?"

"Not to my knowledge. These are dangerous times, though. There are rumors that the might of the Egyptian kingdom is being challenged by outsiders, and the pharaoh, may he live forever, is leading campaigns to try to stop them. It is whispered among the people that he may not be able to defeat them and foreigners may take control of Khemet, may the gods watch over and protect us. The streets have become more dangerous, it seems. Murderers and thieves roam free. They kill and steal from the unwary. When I was a boy, you could walk anywhere in the city, and no one would bother you, it is not that way now. Now, I must escort my wife and daughters when they leave the house, lest someone try to take their virtue, or their possessions. We are a simple folk, Doctor, but we are not as poor as some people are, and there are those who are desperate enough to rob three defenseless women. I insist my wife and daughters let me walk with them when they traveled to make sure they were alright."

He sighed.

"But, my daughter, Femi, wouldn't listen to my warnings. She is extremely headstrong, more so than my wife and younger daughter. She insisted on going places by herself, unescorted, and staying out long after dark. I tried to put my foot down, but that only made her more rebellious."

"How old is she?"

"Sixteen."

The Doctor smiled.

"Trust me, Ahmose, you aren't the first one who has tried to control a sixteen year old and failed miserably at it."

"I love my daughter. I love both my daughters, and I want only the best for them."

"Of course you do," the Doctor said, smiling. "I can understand your concern, Ahmose, but teenagers are hard to control, let alone headstrong ones."

"I fear that headstrong behavior may have cost her life," he said, sadly.

The Doctor put his hand on his shoulder.

"I promise, Ahmose. I will find your daughter and if she is dead, I will bring her killer to justice."

Ahmose stared at him.

"Why do you care about us, so much, Doctor? You are not from Khemet, and neither is Rose. Why would two barbarians be so concerned about my daughter?"

"We may be barbarians, Ahmose, but that doesn't mean we don't care. Both Rose and I travel around for a living, and we frequently help the people that we meet, simply because we both care about seeing justice prevail. We may not be from Khemet, but both of us are ready and willing to help sort this out. That is, if you will let us."

Ahmose smiled.

"I would be honored to have your help, Doctor. I don't know what it is about you. Normally, I would not look twice at barbarians, but you seem to be different. I trust both you and Rose."

The Doctor smiled.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. Both Rose and I will not leave until we figure out what is going on here."

"Then, I will return the favor by offering you both food and shelter."

The Doctor bowed his head.

"Thank you," he said, humbly.

He and Ahmose looked over when Rose and Amisi entered the room. Rose was carrying a circular clay plate that had bread and onions heaped on it, and Amisi was carrying two clay jars of beer. They sat them between the Doctor and Ahmose and sat down with them.

"Eat, my friends," Ahmose said, gesturing to the food.

The Doctor nodded and smiled. He and Rose took some food while Ahmose and Amisi waited patiently. Once they were finished, they took their share, and the four of them ate together in silence.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Where are you going again?" Ahmose asked the Doctor.

"Um…it's called the TARDIS, it's my…tent."

"You named your tent?"

"Yeah, I'm very fond of it. My tent has been with me many years and served me well. But, anyway, we'll be there for awhile. I have some special ointments that will heal my back, and we want to make sure it hasn't been disturbed. Rose and I will be back before sundown."

He put an arm around her and they both headed for the front door.

"Wait!"

They looked back. Ahmose was giving them a confused look.

"You are going out without makeup on?"

The Doctor frowned.

"Why, am I bit pale? Might meet some sexy Egyptian babe and want to look my best?" he deadpanned.

Ahmose didn't quite know how to answer that. So, he ignored it.

"I'm not sure how you barbarians go about it, but here in Khemet, we smear kohl paint around our eyes to protect us from the sun."

The Doctor's eyes widened while Rose squealed.

"Oh, yes, I want to see the Doctor looking all Egyptian, please put it on him!" she said.

The Doctor shot her a dirty look.

"That won't be necessary. We can get along without it," he said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Nonsense, you need to put it on. It's a must in the desert. Now, go see Amisi and she'll apply it. I won't let you leave this house until you do so."

Rose giggled while the Doctor grumbled under his breath and headed back into the house.

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"Oh my God, you look so cute!" Rose squealed, when she saw the Doctor's face.

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"You even have the little line of makeup going out away from the eyes like you see in the movies. You just look adorable!"

The Doctor looked at her. He smirked at her makeup job.

"Yeah, well, you look like a raccoon," he teased.

"A sexy raccoon though."

The Doctor smiled and kissed her on the lips.

"That you are."

He had to admit, with the sheer linen dress, the eye makeup, and her hair pulled back away from her face, she looked beautiful. He had met Egyptian royalty in his time, and she could give any one of them a run for their money. He, on the other hand, wanting nothing more than to get back to the TARDIS before anyone saw him. He didn't fancy going around ancient Egypt looking like Jackie Tyler. Still, anything to please Ahmose, so they could leave and get back to the TARDIS. He wouldn't admit it to Rose, but his back was aching and he wanted to get his wounds taken care of as soon as possible. They were about to leave when Amisi grabbed hold of his arm.

"Yes?" the Doctor said.

Amisi looked over at Ahmose and pointed at the hair on his head.

"Shouldn't they shave their hair too? Just as a precaution?"

The Doctor's eyes bulged out of his head.

"Oh no!" he said, clamping his hands down on his hair, "eye makeup is one thing, but shaving me bald is quite another. You will not be touching mine or Rose's hair, thank you."

"But, my friend, you could get fleas or lice in there," Ahmose said, pointing to his hair.

"Um, no, we won't. Rose and I are very clean. We take five or six baths every day. There is no need for us to have our hair shorn off."

"Actually, it might be interesting to see what you look like bald," Rose said.

He slammed his hand over her mouth.

"Excuse me, Miss You're Not Helping, but I think right now, silence is golden, especially when it comes to your gob. So zip it!"

She giggled when he took his hand away from her mouth.

"Companions," he muttered.

He sighed.

"Look, Ahmose, it's nice of you to offer us the Telly Savalas special, but Rose and I will pass. Where we come from, everyone keeps most of their body hair, and we'd like to do the same."

Ahmose shrugged.

"If that is what you wish, then I will not stop you. I was mainly concerned about your eyes, especially if you are journeying into Deshret. The light from Amun-Re can make it hard to see out there without protection."

The Doctor nodded.

"I appreciate that you are concerned about us. You and your family have been more than generous, and Rose and I hope to repay that in equal measure by finding what's become of your daughter. Now, if you don't mind, um…Amun-Re is rising higher in the sky, and my friend and I have a ways to go until we reach my…tent."

Ahmose nodded. He stepped aside. The Doctor took Rose's hand, and the two of them left the house.

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After a half hour of walking through the punishing heat of the desert, the Doctor and Rose finally reached the TARDIS. The Doctor let out a cry of joy and ran to it. He threw his arms around the side and laid his head against the wood.

"Oh, I missed you, girl. You are a sight for sore eyes," he said.

He patted the wood and went to the front door. He unlocked it and they stepped inside. Rose sighed with relief when she felt the air-conditioned air hit her skin.

"Oh yes, thank god for modern conveniences," she said. "I thought I was gonna burn up out there."

"Nah, I've been in much hotter places, doesn't bother me a bit. Besides, you need to get used to walking around in Deshret since we're probably gonna be spending a whole lot of time out here."

"That's what they call the desert?" Rose said.

"Yup, in fact, that's where the word desert came from," the Doctor replied, as they walked back to the med bay. "Deshret means red land and the ancient Egyptian name for Egypt, Khemet, means black land, which refers to the silt the Nile deposits when it floods. It's how they tell the difference between civilization where they live, and barren desert where they don't. So, whenever Ahmose is talking about Khemet, he means the part of Egypt they can exist on."

Rose nodded.

"Makes sense," she said.

They entered the med bay. The Doctor walked over to the far wall and slid open a metal panel. Behind it was a metal platform that was encased on all sides by Plexiglas. Rose had never seen this machine before.

"What does this do?"

"This uses concentrated light beams that were developed by scientists on G'lara Nine. The different colors have different wavelengths to them. They'll pulse all over my body and heal any injuries I have. All I have to do is take my clothes off, step inside, relax, and let the lights do the work. Meanwhile, you can do whatever you want, go take a nap, or just hang out. I'll let you know when I'm finished.

"I can't watch?"

The Doctor frowned.

"Watch what? Lights pulsing all over my body?"

"Yeah, I'd love to see colored lights all over your naked body."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow when she stuck her tongue between her teeth.

"Much as I'd love to look through the healing chamber and see you standing there staring at me with lust in your eyes, I'm afraid I'm going to forbid you from doing that. You had just as rough a time as I did and you need to rest. You complained earlier about waking up early. Well, here's your chance to catch up on some sleep. Who knows when we might get back here again, so you better make it count."

Rose pouted, but quickly grinned when the Doctor rolled his eyes. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Enjoy the light show," she said.

"I will, since I'll feel like a million pounds after it. Now go ahead and get some sleep. I'll come get you when I'm done."

Rose nodded. She squeezed his hand. The Doctor winked and smiled at her in return. He waited until she left the room before he took off his loincloth and stepped into the chamber.

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"Rose?"

Rose slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at the Doctor who was gently shaking her awake.

"Are you done?" she said.

"I've been done for a couple of hours now, but I waited, so you could get a proper nap."

"Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm brilliant. I'm completely healed. Look."

He turned and showed her his back. Rose let out a gasp when she saw it. It was almost completely healed. What scars she could see were very faint and indistinct. She rejoiced silently, knowing he wouldn't carry big ugly welts around on his back for the rest of this life. She reached up, ran her hand down his back, and giggled when she noticed the shiver that ran down his spine. She was sure that shiver didn't come from her cold hand.

The Doctor turned back around.

"Are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready to go when you are."

"Well, we better get going, it'll be dark soon, and we don't want to get lost, not to mention the jackals will be out scavenging."

Rose nodded. She pulled back the covers and got up from the bed. The Doctor took her hand and they headed towards the console room.

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By the time they got going, the sun was already starting to sink in the sky. Rose thought it was hot before, but now it was broiling. As the sweat rolled down her forehead, she started to wonder if a shaved head wasn't such a bad idea after all. She looked over at the Doctor and noticed he was barely breaking a sweat. She envied the man and his ability to adapt to temperature changes.

As they walked, a strong wind stirred up the sand and blew it into their faces. Rose coughed and threw her hands over her face and nose while the Doctor did the same. She looked all around, but there was nowhere they could go for cover. The Doctor looked at her and jerked his head, indicating that they needed to move on. Rose nodded and tried to follow him, but the mini sandstorm got to them and they both hunkered down, closing their eyes and huddling close to each other until it blew over.

After about ten minutes, the wind finally died down and the sand storm ceased. Rose and the Doctor opened their eyes and immediately spied something lying half-buried in the sand several feet away. Rose felt the bile rise to her throat when she noticed it was a body. The Doctor took her hand and both of them walked towards it.

_Oh God, don't let this be Femi._ Rose thought.

They reached the body and Rose's heart sank when she saw the torn and dirtied linen dress the corpse was wearing. She noticed that the arms and legs had been torn away and something had ripped open the stomach and had fed on the insides. She turned away, on the verge of vomiting. The Doctor knelt down, briefly examined the body, and with a sigh, stood up.

"I think we better hurry back to Ahmose's house and get him. If this is who I think it is, he'll need to see the body," he said.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Ahmose smiled when the Doctor and Rose came into his house.

"My friends, I'm glad to see you are back. Did you do whatever it is you were wanting to do?"

"Yeah…um…"

The Doctor shifted his foot.

"Um…Ahmose…we need you to come with us back into the desert."

The smile fell off Ahmose's face.

"Into Deshret? Now? It is almost night."

"I know. It's just that…we've found something and we need you to take a look at it."

"Can't it wait until morning?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"I doubt it'll be in the same place in the morning," he said.

"Then, I will go with you, but we must be quick. The jackals roam after dark, you know."

The Doctor nodded.

"It isn't far from here, I promise."

He paused.

"Oh, and can you bring some linen? We may need it," he said.

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Ahmose glanced around, hugging the linen close to his chest. The sun was setting in the sky. The lower it went, the more nervous he got. Neither he nor any other sane Egyptian would ever think of venturing out into the desert at night. Not only were there jackals, there were also ghosts roaming about and there was a chance they might run into thieves, blasphemers who desecrated the tombs of the dead in their search for treasure. The penalty if caught was death, so tomb robbers wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone if they were spotted. So far, Ahmose didn't see any of these things, but he was still wary. He glanced behind him. His town was about a half mile away now, he could see lights burning in some of the windows, a sign that Amun-Re had almost descended into the dark underworld for his nightly boat ride through the demon infested cavern there. Looking up, he noticed that some of the stars on the goddess Nut's abdomen were becoming visible now. The Doctor had brought along a torch and a couple pieces of flint, which was a good thing, since Ahmose figured that they would need it before they were finished showing him whatever it was he was supposed to see.

"How much longer, my friends?" he asked.

The Doctor pointed straight ahead.

"Over there," he said.

Ahmose looked where he was pointing and noticed something lying half-buried in the sand. He stared at it, trying to determine what it was. It looked like a carcass of some kind, perhaps an antelope, or a cheetah. It wasn't very big, whatever it was.

But, as they neared it, Ahmose noticed that it was a human being. And even worse, it was female. A lump formed in his throat. He prayed to the gods that it wasn't who he thought it was.

Then, when they were several feet away, he saw the face and he felt like he was going to faint. He let out a strangled cry, ran over, and dropped to his knees besides the remains of his beloved daughter. The Doctor and Rose stood nearby, watching with anguish while their friend wept, wailed, and cradled Femi in his arms. The Doctor dropped to his knees, used the flint to light the torch, and walked over to Ahmose's side. He laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Ahmose looked up at him, tears cascading down his face.

"Who did this? Who killed my Femi? What did she do to deserve this?"

The Doctor swallowed hard.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," he said, with determination in his eyes.

He knelt down beside Ahmose, gave the torch to Rose, and helped him unfold the linen. Then, they laid her body inside it and wrapped it up. The Doctor offered to carry her, but Ahmose wouldn't hear of it.

"She is my daughter. I will carry her home," he said.

The Doctor nodded. They stood and the Doctor took the torch from Rose. They watched while Ahmose walked past, weeping quietly, and when he was past them, the Doctor leaned into Rose's ear.

"Did you notice? Femi's heart is missing," he said. "That means that this Ammit or whatever is posing as Ammit must have killed her."

"But, why?" Rose whispered.

"That is what we are going to find out."

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After they returned to Ahmose's house, the Doctor and Rose stood outside giving both Ahmose and Amisi some private time to grieve. They leaned against the outside wall, holding hands while they listened to them wailing inside. Rose glanced at the Doctor and noticed his barely contained rage. She knew now that he would stop at nothing until Femi's killer had been brought to justice.

After about an hour, Ahmose came outside. He stood in the cool of the night wiping the tears from his cheeks and apologizing for his and Amisi's behavior. The Doctor held up his hand.

"There is no need to apologize. I understand completely," he said.

Ahmose stared off into space.

"I will have to prepare her and bury her in the morning," he said after a moment's reflection.

He shook his head.

"I can't believe it. My own daughter, dead."

The Doctor's hearts ached for his friend. He knew all too well what it was like to lose someone you cared about. He walked to his side.

"Rose and I will assist you, if you want us to," he said.

Ahmose shook his head.

"No, it is not my guest's responsibility. My wife and I will clean her, say the necessary spells, and gather the things that she will need in the afterlife. I wouldn't think of troubling you with something like this."

"It's no trouble at all, Ahmose."

Ahmose smiled gratefully and put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"I appreciate your offer, my friend, but we must handle it."

The Doctor nodded.

"I'm just glad my youngest is staying with relatives right now. That gives my wife and I time to calm down, so we won't be in tears when we tell her."

He sighed and shook his head.

"Isis protect us," he muttered.

He walked back inside the house. The Doctor looked at Rose.

"Why don't you go ahead and go to bed?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you need your rest. I'll be alright. I'm just gonna stay out here for awhile and enjoy the night air."

Rose nodded. She kissed him on the lips.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Rose."

She squeezed his shoulder and went inside. The Doctor gazed up at the stars while he thought about the day's events. He continued to stare at them while the torchlight in Ahmose's house and the surrounding buildings went out. Eventually, the moon was the only source of light and the town fell silent. The Doctor continued to stare up at the heavens, lost in thought. Suddenly, the Doctor was jarred out of his thoughts by the sound of something growling in the shadows. He leaned up and noticed an animal slowly coming towards him. It came into the moonlight and the Doctor stiffened when he noticed its lion and hippo body and its crocodile head.

"Well, well, we meet at last!" he said, bringing out his screwdriver.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

The Doctor stepped away from the house readying himself for a battle.

"So, the tales are true. The fearsome god Ammit lives…or does he? Because I'm still not entirely convinced you are an ancient Egyptian god. I think you're just posing as one. But, we shall see, eh?"

Ammit came out of the shadows, baring its teeth while it slowly walked towards the Doctor.

"So, what brings you up from the Underworld? Bored with just sitting there by the scales, waiting for the wicked to become your dinner? Not enough bad people to satisfy you, so you have to come up and get them before they die?"

He backed up when Ammit snapped at him. Slowly, he started to lead him out of the town into the desert, so no one but him would be at risk.

"Must be a right pain in the arse being a god and having to wait on the other gods to feed you, eh?" he said, slowly backing up. "Kinda degrading, I should think. Being the pet doggie of the Egyptian pantheon? And, on top of that, your master is Anubis the jackal god. So, you're another canine's dog. Hoo-hoo, no wonder you're angry. I would be too if someone made me from a bunch of parts lying in a rubbish bin and commanded me to be a heart eating doggie for all eternity."

He jumped back when Ammit snapped at him. He looked over his shoulder and saw they were nearly out of town.

"So, what brings you my way? Have I been a naughty boy? Do I need my hearts torn from my chest and devoured, so I will spend eternity in hellish limbo? Or…are you after me because I'm on to you?"

They reached the outskirts of the town and the Doctor quickened his pace.

"That's it, isn't it? I figured out you're not who you're claiming to be. So, where are you really from, Ammit? Who is your true master? Because I have a funny feeling it's not Anubis."

He ran to the left when Ammit lunged at him.

"Come on, out with it. Where are you from? What planet? Cut the crap and tell me what you really are and why you're killing innocent people! Because if I have to get the truth out of you the hard way, I will!"

He gasped when Ammit roared and sprang at him. He dived to the right and executed a roll just as the creature landed where he had been standing, but in a heartbeat, Ammit was on top of him. The Doctor seized his snout trying to keep his jaws from snapping down on his head. He tried to get his feet under his body and grunted when Ammit raked his chest with its claws. Finally, he got his feet under his belly and with all his strength kicked him away from his body. He gasped and quickly sprang to his feet. Reaching down, he grabbed his screwdriver and aimed it at him. He turned it on and the beast let out an enraged howl while he backed up several feet.

"Now, who are you and who do you work for?" the Doctor said. "Tell me! I demand to know what's really going on here!"

The beast roared and lunged at him again. The Doctor cursed and dove to the right, missing its sharp teeth by inches. He scrambled to his feet again and aimed the screwdriver. Another howl came from him when he turned it on. The Doctor, gasping for breath, looked around for something to hit him with. He noticed several large rocks beside a nearby house. He looked from them to Ammit who was getting ready to spring.

Then, he saw something that made his blood run cold. Rose ran out from between the houses with a huge clay jar in her hands, heading right for them.

"No, Rose, stay back!" he yelled at her.

He gasped when Ammit turned its attention to her and began to lumber towards her, its sharp teeth glistening with saliva. The Doctor chased after it, screaming at Rose to run. Rose stopped, looked at the Doctor, gave him a pointed look and dropped the jar in the sand. She ran diagonally into the desert while the Doctor ran to retrieve the jar. He snatched it up and turned sharply, running with every bit of energy he could muster as Ammit closed in on Rose. His hearts raced when he saw that the creature had nearly caught up to her and was about to spring. Yelling, he mustered up every ounce of strength and lobbed the jar at Ammit's head. His yell of rage became one of triumph when the jar connected with the beast's head and it stumbled in a dazed stupor. Holding his screwdriver at the ready, the Doctor ran to him while Rose turned and ran back the other way.

Just then, there was a bright flash of light and when it faded, Ammit was gone. The Doctor stomped his foot and let out an angry yell while Rose continued to run to him.

"Doctor!" she said.

She ran into his arms and the Doctor held her tightly. He lowered his sweat drenched head to hers, sighing with relief that she was safe. The hug lasted for a moment and then the Doctor stepped back, relief turning to anger.

"Rose, don't ever do anything like that again!" he said. "You could have been killed!"

"I only wanted to help," Rose protested. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been able to hit that thing on the head."

"I would have found a way," the Doctor retorted. "I almost lost you because you didn't listen to me! When I tell you to stop, do it!"

Rose bit her lip.

"Doctor…I'm sorry. I didn't want it to kill you. You're hurt again and…please don't be angry at me, please."

The Doctor's anger melted away when he saw how upset Rose was. He put his hand on her cheek while she stared at the ground.

"I'm not angry now," he said, gently. "It's just that I saw that thing was about to pounce on you and I was terrified that my aim would be off and you would be dead before I could stop it. I understand you want to protect me, but there are times when you need to stand back and let me handle things, alright?"

Rose nodded. The Doctor smiled and pulled her into another embrace.

"Thank you for bringing the jar out to me," he said.

Rose smiled.

"You're welcome."

She touched the area around his wounds.

"Oh, Doctor…"

"It's alright, the wounds aren't deep. Nothing another session in the healing chamber won't cure. Compared to what happened the other day, this is just a paper cut."

He noticed Rose looking past him and turned to see several people standing on the outskirts of the village watching them.

"Well, I guess we woke up the neighbors," he said.

Ahmose pushed past the crowd and ran towards them.

"My friends, what happened? We heard yelling," he said.

He stopped short when he saw the Doctor's chest.

"By the gods, Doctor, what's happened to you?" he said, concerned.

The Doctor hesitated a moment, wondering if he should tell him the truth.

"I was taking a walk and a cheetah ambushed me. I managed to chase it away, but it got a swipe at me before I could."

Ahmose shook his head.

"I don't know what it's like where you come from, but here, everyone knows it's dangerous to go into Deshret after dark. You're lucky you weren't killed."

"Yes, yes, I was and I know now not to go out here, at least not without protection."

Ahmose nodded.

"Come inside the house. Amisi can tend to your wounds."

The Doctor nodded. He took Rose's hand, gave it a squeeze and they followed Ahmose back to the house.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After Amisi cleaned and put ointment on the Doctor's wounds, he went back to his room to think. Rose went back to her room and tried to sleep without success. After about an hour, she tiptoed into the Doctor's room and lay down beside him. She lay on her side facing him while he stared up at the ceiling. For a long while, she didn't speak, letting the Doctor think and figure things out. But, curiosity about what he was thinking finally got to be too much for her and she asked him about Ammit.

"That wasn't really Ammit, was it?" she said.

The Doctor sighed.

"I don't know, Rose. I just don't buy that an ancient Egyptian god is running around killing people. There's got to be more to it. I would believe it came from outer space before I believed it was an actual god."

"That light, was that a teleport or a transmat then?"

"More than likely. I'm sure that Ammit or whoever is controlling it was watching us and when he saw I was about to capture him, he was teleported away."

"So, he or they know about us. They know we're trying to find out the truth?"

"Yup. I'm sure Ammit was either shadowing us without our knowing or its master has a way of spying on us. If it's on its own, it could have been with us when we went to the TARDIS. It saw the TARDIS, worked out what I am and possibly who I am and tried to assassinate me tonight. Same if it's working for someone. That someone could have also seen the TARDIS and came to the same conclusion. And, I'm betting it's the latter. Somehow, Ammit doesn't strike me as someone with enough intelligence to organize and carry out assassinations. It seems to me that he is the muscle and someone else is the brains. If that's the case, I'm sure our mystery man or woman will reveal their identity in time."

Rose fell silent, thinking.

"Do…do you think that creature is here because of us?" she finally asked.

The Doctor's brow furrowed as he thought.

"Dunno, it's tricky to track a TARDIS. It could be that there's some big plan in motion and we do what we always do, stumble into the middle of it. That would be my guess and now we're being targeted before we stop whatever is going on."

Rose sighed.

"Why is it every time we go somewhere, it always ends up becoming complicated?" she said.

The Doctor grinned.

"Ah, complications are part of the fun. Be boring if nothing ever happened," he said.

Rose lightly touched the area above his wounds.

"I'm just worried about you. You've already been hurt twice now. I don't want to see you with your hearts ripped out of your chest."

The Doctor smiled softly as he rolled onto his side.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be alright," he said. "That thing caught me off guard, but that's the last time that'll happen. Now that I know it's stalking us, I'll be constantly aware of everything going on around us. And, I told you, this is nothing. It wasn't as bad as being whipped and it's easily fixed. It doesn't even hurt now, so why don't you close your eyes and get some sleep. Femi's burial's in the morning and I'm sure Ahmose will want us to attend. Not to mention if that creature is on the hunt for us, you need to be just as alert as I am now."

Rose nodded. She snuggled up close to the Doctor, taking care not to bother the ointment on his wounds. The Doctor kissed her on the top of the head and rubbed her back gently, watching quietly while she slowly drifted off to sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

"There you go, my faithful pet," the man said as he tossed a hunk of flesh to Ammit.

He stood there for a few minutes watching while the beast greedily devoured its meal before he closed the door to its cell and walked back to the control room.

That was close, too close, Sire," a servant said when he ran up to meet him.

"Yes, the man and woman nearly succeeded in capturing my little pet. Luckily I managed to teleport him back here just in time," the man said. "Did you find out anything on this blue box my pet saw them go into."

"Yes, Sire, we ran it through the database and it's him. It's Sheltek Na'barak himself."

"Just as I surmised. The enemy of my people has unwittingly stumbled onto my plans, has he?" he said as he walked to a large window at the front of the control room and stared down at Earth.

He looked at his servant.

"He does not know, does he? Sheltek Na'barak hasn't figured out our plans, has he?"

"I don't think so, Sire. I was watching while Ammit tried to kill him and he was asking your pet for information. I believe the Annihilator is still clueless about our intentions."

"Excellent. He must not figure it out, at least, not until it is too late. What of the female child who assisted him? I assume she is the Annihilator's latest disciple?"

"I believe so, Sire. She has fair skin and yellow hair and is not of Egyptian origin. She must have come with him in the blue box."

He shook his head.

"The Annihilator gathers so many disciples around him; it's difficult to tell who his agents are."

"There is more, Sire."

"Yes?" he said, looking at him.

"He has undergone the transformation of his people. He no longer resembles the man with the curly hair and rainbow coat. He looks different now, my Sire. He is leaner with brown hair this time."

"Show me, my servant."

"Yes, Sire."

The servant punched a button and a holographic image of the Doctor appeared in the room. The man stepped forward and gazed at it.

"You are not of our planet, Bezrak. Do you know the legend of the Sheltek Na'barak?"

"Not entirely, Sire. I know that he is the enemy of your race," Bezrak said.

The man nodded.

"He is, indeed. Sheltek Na'barak is an old name given to him by our ancient ancestors. It stands for Annihilator of the Innocents. He is an agent of chaos and destruction. He and the people he gathers around him as his loyal disciples. He brainwashes innocent ones and uses them as his tools to spread even more of his death and destruction. This female of his, let me see her."

The holographic image changed to Rose. The man studied her intently.

"She is young. That's how it begins. He finds his disciples when they are young and naïve and he slowly brainwashes them while he flies them around the universe in his time machine until they are willing to kill and die for him in order to carry out his will. This young one assisted him in stopping my pet, yes?"

"Yes, Sire."

"Then she is already under his thrall and that makes her just as big a threat as the Annihilator. She must be stopped along with him."

"But, Sire, what is the disciple could be turned to our side? What if it is not too late? What if we could convince her of his evil plan and turn her against him?"

"I don't know if that will work, Bezrak. His influence is strong and she is probably too far gone for conversion now."

"But perhaps we can seize her then and use her as bait to trap him?"

The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"That may work. There is evidence he considers his disciples valuable enough to bargain for their lives. This young one may be just what we need to obtain his surrender. We must do something before all is lost and our plans are discovered. But first we must gather more information about this disciple of his so that we will know best how to exploit her and use her to trap the Annihilator. I wish you to go down and befriend her, Bezrak. Get her to talk to you and tell you what she knows of Sheltek Na'barak and what his intentions are."

"Yes, Sire. And once the Annihilator's intentions are known?"

"Then we will capture him, punish him and let my pet devour his hearts. After all, isn't that the old Egyptian superstition they believe in? That Ammit devours the hearts of the wicked and sinful? If that is true, then it shall be a fitting end for the Annihilator to watch as my pet feasts upon his hearts before he dies and spends eternity roasting in the flames of Tir'rashek for his crimes. Now go, my servant, and do as I command."

"Yes, Sire."

Bezrak left the room while the man turned back to the window and watched the Earth spin slowly beneath him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

All through the night, the Doctor lay on his bed listening with heavy hearts to the sounds of grief coming from his friends while Rose lay sleeping beside him. He hated that his friends lost one of their daughters. An innocent girl who didn't deserve to die and he wasn't able to stop the one responsible which was even more painful. His one comfort was that Rose escaped from the ordeal unharmed and was sleeping peacefully at his side where she was safe. But still, he would trade places in a heartsbeat with Femi if it meant she would be brought back to life and his friends could have their household return to normal.

As Ahmose passed by the room he glanced in and stopped when he noticed the Doctor was still awake. Concerned he brushed the tears away from his cheeks and wandered inside.

"My friend, you must get some sleep now," Ahmose said. "There is no point in staying awake all night. What's done is done. You did what you could. You brought our daughter back home for burial and I and my wife are both grateful to you for that."

He smiled.

"Thank you, Ahmose. I appreciate your kind words but I don't sleep very much. It's not because of Femi although I am upset about that. I just don't sleep through the night."

"I am sorry to hear that, my friend. Perhaps Amisi can make a sleeping potion for you?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks."

He nodded.

"Then I shall bid you goodnight, Doctor."

"Goodnight, Ahmose."

He took one last look at him and walked out of the room. The Doctor laid his head down beside Rose's so he wouldn't be able to tell if he was asleep or awake if he passed by again. He gazed on the face of the woman he loved, thankful that she wasn't troubled like he was. He couldn't afford to have her tired and sluggish, not when that thing was around and more than likely targeting them. They had a long morning ahead of them already with the funeral and his going back to the TARDIS to repair the wounds inflicted by the creature. After that, he wasn't sure what they were going to do but he knew he couldn't rest on his laurels and let Ammit kill someone else. There had already been too many deaths and he would be damned if there were any more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When it was nearly dawn, the Doctor could hear his friends stirring again. He noticed Ahmose passing by with a wooden spade and he realized he was making preparations to dig the grave so she could be interred before the sun rose too high in the sky and the heat became unbearable. Very slowly, the Doctor tried to work his way around Rose so he could help his friend dig the grave but Rose was too close to his body and when he moved she felt it. He cursed silently when she slowly opened her eyes.

"Doctor?" she murmured.

"Yes, Rose, I'm alright. I'm just going to help Ahmose dig the grave for Femi," he said. "Go back to sleep now."

"I wanna help," Rose murmured.

"No, it's alright. I'm not even sure if Ahmose will accept my help. Just go ahead and go back to sleep. I'll be right outside. Nothing will happen to you."

"S'not me I'm worried about."

He smiled tenderly.

"Nothing will happen to me either. I'm fine. Trust me, from here on out I'm gonna be on my guard every moment until this is resolved. Now just close your eyes and quit worrying."

He kissed her cheek and Rose sighed as she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. The Doctor smiled at her briefly before he scooted off the end of the bed and went to find Ahmose.

He found him outside digging a grave several feet outside the town limits. The sky was beginning to lighten while the sun prepared to come up. The Doctor took a deep breath and walked over towards him.

"Can I help?" he asked him.

Ahmose started and then relaxed when he saw it was him.

"That's not necessary, my friend. This is my responsibility," he said.

"I realize that but it would go faster if you'd let me help," the Doctor said gently.

He shook his head.

"I don't want it to go faster, Doctor. I wish to think on my daughter as I do this. I want to remember her while I dig her final resting place. I appreciate your help, my friend, but I prefer to do this alone."

The Doctor nodded.

"If it does get to be too much, come and get me," he said.

He nodded.

"I will."

The Doctor stood there a moment watching while he dug into the sand before he turned and headed back into the house.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By the time the shallow hole was finished the sun was high in the sky and the ground was heating up. The townspeople had come out to watch and comfort their friends and the Doctor and Rose stood near the back of the crowd watching silently while a simple service was conducted for the remains. While a friend of Ahmose's read some protection spells, Ahmose put a couple of clay jars in the pit with his daughter for use in the next life. He also put in a makeup kit and a wooden toy jackal that she had loved in childhood and couldn't bear to part with. The Doctor stood with his arm around Rose's shoulder while both of them solemnly watched the ceremony. Every so often the Doctor would scan the surroundings making sure the creature was nowhere around before he turned his attention back to the service.

Once the ceremony was finished, Ahmose and a few others began to fill in the hole. Slowly the crowd dispersed heading back to their homes. The Doctor and Rose walked up and stood nearby watching while the dirt and sand covered the remains, obscuring her body from view. While he watched the burial, the Doctor silently repeated his vow to stop the creature and bring her killer to some kind of justice.

They stood there and watched until the hole had been completely filled in and Ahmose wiped the sweat off his brow while he thanked his friends for helping him. He noticed the Doctor and Rose standing nearby and walked over to them.

"Thank you for attending her funeral, my friends," he said.

"You're welcome," they both said.

He smiled.

"You didn't know my daughter. You barely know me and my wife. You didn't have to do that, you know."

"I know, but it's something we wanted to do. It's true we don't know you all that well but we do know you now and this was your daughter. We wanted to pay our final respects to her."

"Again, thank you," he said, bowing his head. "What will you do now though?"

"We need to go back out to our tent for awhile and then we'll be back here before the sun sets," he said to him.

"Be careful. Take care going across the hot sands of Deshret."

"We will. You take care as well."

Ahmose nodded.

"I think I shall have a little nap now that my daughter is safely sleeping below us. I am very tired."

They nodded and watched while he walked back to his house and went inside.

"Come on, Rose, let's get out to the TARDIS, do what we need to do and get back here just in case something else happens," the Doctor said to her.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

By the time the Doctor and Rose set out for the TARDIS, it was nearing eleven o'clock and the heat was beginning to intensify. They took it slow and drank the water from the canteens the Doctor had brought along. But by the time they had gotten to the TARDIS, both of them were exhausted, sweaty and smelly and both of them decided to take a shower and rest up a bit before heading back to town. Rose went first while the Doctor went back to the med bay to heal his wounds. Rose turned the shower on, took off her clothes and got in. She gasped as the hot water hit her back and all the dirt, sand and grime was washed away. She never thought a shower could feel so good in her whole life. As she showered she thought over the events of the past few days and counted her blessings that both of them had managed to survive their ordeal with the guards and with the creature. Twice the Doctor had to heal himself, twice he had come close to dying and for the first time in a long time Rose was terrified that he might not survive ancient Egypt. She knew that he would probably regenerate but she didn't want him to. She was used to his current body and she loved him. She loved his personality which was not as grim as it was in his other life. When he regenerated, it was almost like breaking up with one man and dating another. She had no desire to do that again.

"Besides," she muttered to herself as she lathered herself with soap, "knowing my luck, his next life'll wanna wear tweed and bow ties."

"Rose?"

Rose's head jerked to the right when she heard the Doctor's voice. Through the semi-transparent shower curtain, she could see the outline of his head looking around the bathroom door.

"Yeah?" she said.

"I've finished repairing my body," he said. "The damage wasn't as extensive as it was when the guards whipped me so I didn't need to stay in very long. I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't go back to the med bay in search of me."

"Okay, thanks," Rose said.

There was silence for a moment and then she noticed the Doctor coming into the room. She watched as he walked up to the shower curtain and stood there for a moment.

"Rose, can I look around this shower curtain for a moment?" he said.

"Um...sure."

The Doctor pulled back the shower curtain and gently helped Rose to turn in a full circle while he examined her.

"I just want to make sure you have no bumps, bruises or cuts that need healing," he said when he was through. "I don't see any so I won't bother you."

"Wait, come in here with me. You wanted to shower too, yeah?"

The Doctor thought that over for a moment and then nodded. Rose closed the curtain so the water wouldn't get on the floor and she rubbed soap on her with her flannel while she watched the outline of the Doctor as he took off his clothes. When he was done, he stepped in from the back and Rose turned and handed him the flannel. He began to soap himself down while she worked on her hair. The Doctor grinned.

"We're at the stage now where we can shower together. I s'pose the next step is using the loo in front of each other," he quipped.  
He noticed Rose didn't say anything or crack a smile. He gazed into her eyes and saw the worry there.

"Rose, I'll be alright. It was just scratches basically," he said.

"What if next time it's not? What if next time you get hurt fatally."

The Doctor shrugged.

"Then I regenerate," he said matter-of-factly.

"I don't want you to do that," Rose said softly.

The Doctor stopped soaping himself and stared at her.

"Rose, I'm alright, really. I've survived this long and I know how to take care of myself, yeah? Don't worry about me. I won't die on ya."  
He embraced her and put his chin on her head. He grinned and looked down.

"Enjoying the soap I have on me?" he asked.

Rose managed a smile.

"Yeah, especially in my nose and mouth."

The Doctor chuckled and rubbed her back.

"We'll be alright, Rose. We've managed to survive before and we'll do it again," he said to her.

Rose nodded. She stepped back and both of them stepped under the water so they could rinse off the soap and shampoo.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bezrek adjusted his thick linen kilt and the ankh medallion around his neck. The medallion was in reality a holographic imager which projected an image over his body and made him appear to be an Egyptian human and under his tongue was a speech translator that would render anything he said into the human's native tongue. Apart from that and the kilt, he had on a pair of straw sandles to protect his feet. The imager made him appear to be bald and also gave the illusion of kohl paint around his eyes so he would blend in with everyone else. He neared the village where Ammit was last discretely searching for the Annihalator's disciple. He had chosen the name Chisisi which he learned was the Egyptian word for secret. He always did like a bit of irony.

So far he hadn't located the child but he had come across a few villagers who were giving him wary looks. He had calmly explained that he had traveled from the southern part of Egypt in service of the king to help work on a few monuments to his glory. That seemed to satisfy them and they welcomed him and offered their homes for the night. He declined, wanting to find out where the Doctor and Rose were staying the night. He told everyone that he already had lodgings for the night to pacify them but in reality he knew from studying the culture and geographical location that he would have to find somewhere to stay since there were animals that roamed the sands at night hunting for prey not to mention human thieves who would slit throats for treasure or if someone spotted them in the act of robbing a tomb. Bezrek scoffed at the ones who did that. They were like fleas searching for a bit of blood on a dog's back. Little pests who had no concept of true power and wealth, the kind that his Lord possessed. Humans were nothing but primitive, primal, backwards fleas, parasites who drained their planet of its resources until one day the whole world would resemble the desert he trod across now. Looking at them with their ugly faces and bodies, their backwards way of doing things and their limited intelligence, he couldn't understand how Sheltek Na barak could love them so. They seemed to live in their own filth and fight over it too and a higher being such as the Doctor should turn away from them in disgust, not gravitate towards them with open arms. In a million years he would never understand what Sheltek Na barak saw in them.

As he walked along the outskirts of the town, he noticed a man and woman standing beside a mudbrick house. He took no notice of them until he got a little closer and heard the man speaking to the woman.

"I hope the Doctor and Rose are alright," the man was saying. "I don't know how far away their tent was but I hope they reached it in time."

"Don't worry, my love, I'm sure they're alright now," the woman replied.

Bezrek's eyes lit up. Casually, he approached them and bowed low.

"Good afternoon, I am Chisisi," he said. "I come from the south, here to help work on the monuments in honor of the Pharoah, may he live forever in beauty. I have no lodgings for the night and I was wondering if you could tell me where I might find some?"

"If you're looking for lodgings, there are no inns nearby," the man said. "However, you may spend the night on our roof if you like."

Bezrek suppressed a smile. Just what he was hoping the man would say. He bowed again.

"Thank you, kind sir. I am honored to be your guest."

"We are honored to have you with us. I am Ahmose and this is my wife, Amisi."

Bezrek bowed again.

"I am honored to meet you," he said, forcing himself to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"And you. We have two other guests but they're out at their tent and won't be back until later. However if you're hungry, we can offer you some bread and beer..."

"No, that's not necessary," Bezrek said, holding up his hand. "I would just like to come inside and rest awhile."

"Follow me, my friend," Ahmose said as he and Amisi went inside.

Bezrek smirked.

"With pleasure...friend," he muttered, spatting out the last word before he followed them inside. 


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two

By the time the Doctor and Rose got back to Ahmose's house, the sun was on the horizon. No one was at the door so the Doctor looked inside.

"Ahmose? Amisi? We're back," he called.

Ahmose came into the front room.

"Thank the gods you've safely returned," he said to them as they stepped inside. "We have another guest tonight. A traveler from the south named Chisisi. He's inside eating so come and join us. We have bread, beer and onions and a bit of fish Amisi caught earlier.

"Sounds good," the Doctor said cheerfully as they followed him.

They went into the back room where Amisi and Bezrek were reclining on cushions on the floor while the food was spread out between them. Bezrek, trying not to show his excitement at seeing the human child, got up and bowed to them as the Doctor and Rose bowed back.

"Greetings, I am Chisisi from Amara," he said.

"I am the Doctor and this is Rose. We're from Athens, Greece," he said.

"I have heard of this Greece. It is very far off from Khemit."

"Yes, it is," the Doctor said.

Amisi brought in more cushions and the Doctor and Rose sat down. To Bezrek's delight, Rose sat right beside him. Smiling, he poured a bit of beer into a clay mug and passed it to her.

"Thank you," she said, taking it from him.

The Doctor accepted a clay mug of beer from Ahmose who was sitting between him and Amisi. They ate together, making small talk, Bezrek making sure that he kept Rose talking. He found the child charming and sweet and it pained him to think that she was slowly being brainwashed by the Annihilator as part of his army.

After supper, Amisi refused a request from Rose to help clean up and she and the Doctor walked back to his room while Ahmose and Bezrek chatted awhile. Once they were inside the room and away from the others, the Doctor embraced Rose and held her close.

"I'm going to go back outside, see if I can find this Ammit again. Stay in here and guard Ahmose and Amisi for me," he said softly.

"Please be careful, you've already had to heal your body twice," Rose said.

"I will, I promise. The last thing I want is to trudge back to the TARDIS with an injured body. I won't be long. I just wanna survey the area and see If I can find anything out of the ordinary."

Rose put her hand on his chest and leaned her head against his shoulder while he gazed at her lovingly. While they were doing that, Bezrek peeked around the doorway of the next room. He snorted softly when he saw them together.

_I see what my master meant about the Annihilator's influence on his companions,_ he thought. _How advantageous that he is leaving without her. Now's my chance to befriend her and learn his secrets._

He quickly jerked his head back when the Doctor and Rose broke apart from each other. He listened while the Doctor softly said his goodbyes and lingered near the doorway, afraid to move for fear Rose would see him there. But at the same time he knew that if Rose came through the door and saw him pressed up against the wall he would be forced to explain himself so he quickly stepped away and pretended to examine a senet board that was on the left side of the room. His timing was perfect because thirty seconds later, Rose passed through. Bezrek cleared his throat and stopped Rose before she went into the next room.

"Hello, I was wondering if you'd like to play senet with me," he said, gesturing to the game board.

"I don't know how," Rose said with a smile.

Bezrek chuckled.

"I must confess I don't know how to play either. I was hoping you could teach me," he said as charmingly as he could.

"Your guess is as good as mine, mate," Rose said.

"Well then, perhaps if you're not busy, we could sit on the roof and chat? I would love to get to know you better."

"Okay, but if you're trying to chat me up…"

"Chat…up?" Bezrek said with a confused frown.

"I'm in a relationship in case you're trying to flirt with me," Rose clarified.

"Oh, no, no, my dear. I'm not interested in a relationship at the moment. Just a little conversation under the stars," he said, giving her his most winning smile.

"Okay," Rose said, nodding.

Bezrek smiled and led her to the stone steps that led up onto the flat roof. The air was slightly cool but not frigid and the moon and stars shone brightly in the sky. Rose took a moment when they reached the roof to admire how brilliant they were since she was seeing them without any pollution blocking her view. While she did that, Bezrek stared at her quietly. Even though she was a human, he had to admit she was beautiful. He had never been that interested in a relationship but then again, most women he had known were not half as beautiful as Rose. Still, he kept those thoughts to himself. His mission was to find out all he could about her and her companion.

They sat down on the roof across from each other. As they did, Bezrek noticed several other people were also out on their roofs, either chatting, enjoying the night sky or sleeping. He turned his attention back to Rose who was smiling warmly at him.

"So, I suppose my first question would be, where are you from since you and your…lover are obviously not from Khemet," Bezrek said.

"We're from…Greece," Rose said.

Bezrek noticed a slight hesitation before she said Greece and he knew she was lying but he said nothing nor let his face betray his thoughts. Instead, he continued to smile at her, letting her open up to him. As they chatted, he told her a few made up details about his life in Egypt but for the most part, he let her speak, even though he could sense most of what she was saying were lies as well. As she spoke, he became angry at the Annihilator. He could tell Rose was an innocent in many ways and the fact that he not only seduced her but got her to lie for him was deplorable and he hoped to be present when his master fed his hearts to Ammit. He kept the conversation casual for now, just establishing a rapport with the young woman, building up trust so she and him could speak some more in the future. He avoided questions about the Doctor except to ask if they had a relationship which Rose admitted they did. Bezrek figured the relationship was one sided and the Annihilator had led the girl to think that he loved her when he truly didn't. The master was never wrong about such things and he knew that this Doctor must be a dangerous adversary since his master rarely feared or paid attention to anyone lower than he was.

They continued to speak, mostly making small talk until Rose heard the Doctor calling to her from below. Rose glanced over at the hole that led downwards and excused herself.

"I need to go inside and speak with him for a moment," she said to Bezrek.

"Of course, of course, thank you for chatting with me. I hope we can do it again."

"I'd like that," Rose said.

Bezrek smiled at that and watched as she got up from the ground and hurried over to the hole

_Good,_ he thought to himself as he watched her going down the hole_, I've accomplished my first task, gaining the disciple's trust. Next time, I will question her further about this Doctor and see if I can begin to lure her away from his side so I can kidnap her and take her back to the ship. _


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

The Doctor took Rose to the room they shared and sat down with her on the wooden bed.

"What did you find?" she asked.

"Another body, out in the desert. We need to go examine it but I wanted to come back and tell you first," he said to her. "Did you find out anything?"

"Not really. I talked to Chisisi while you were gone. He told me about himself and I told him some things I thought sounded good about life in Greece. I tried to be convincing. Hopefully, I was."

"Well, we can't be concerned about him. We have more important things to think about now," the Doctor said. "We'll wait until everyone goes to sleep though before we go back out. Hopefully the jackals won't take the body away and feast on it while we're here."

Bezrek stood just outside the door, listening. When the Doctor was finished speaking, he snuck away and went back up on the roof, waiting for the moment when Ahmose and Amisi went to sleep. He pulled a communicator out of a small leather pouch hidden underneath his loincloth and contacted his master.

"Speak," his master said.

"Sire, the human child, Rose, and Sheltek Na'barak are going outside late tonight. The Annihilator has found another human corpse.

"I know. My pet did that. I want to try to lay a trap for him. I figured he would take the bait and the corpse would peak his interest. Hopefully, my pet can herd him and the human child into a transmat beam and we'll take them up to the ship where we can dispose of them once and for all."

"Sire, the human child, I want her to be spared," Bezrek said quickly.

"Oh? And why should I spare her?" his master said.

"She is an innocent, Sire. She has been seduced and brainwashed by Sheltek Na'barak. It is not her fault that she follows him. He compels her to serve him."

"Then she is a threat, same as him, and she must also die."

"No, Sire, please spare her."

There was silence on the other end that stretched on for about thirty seconds.

"Are you defying me?" his master finally said.

"No, Sire, I just think it would be hypocritical for you to punish her for The Annihilator's sins. She's been put under his thrall…"

"And he can make her fight for him which is why she must die with him. You are not the leader here, Bezrek, I know what's best for us and even if the child is innocent, she must die as a precaution. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sire."

"Good. Wait and watch for them to leave and follow at a distance. Once they are captured and brought up into the ship, I will bring you up and then we will deal with these interlopers."

"Yes, Sire."

"Good. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Bezrek said no so his master signed off. Bezrek put the communicator back in the pouch and sat and thought about what his master told him. He was loyal to him but he felt he was making a mistake. His master didn't know Rose like he did. Even thought the child lied to him during their chat, he could tell she was a kind, sweet person and the last thing he wanted was for her to suffer and die with a rogue criminal like the Doctor. He decided that he would try to get Rose away from The Annihilator. Perhaps, speak to her tonight and get her to leave with him before the Doctor was taken up into the ship. He knew he was risking his master's wrath, but…

He suddenly realized what he was thinking and it shocked him. He was actually going to risk death for a human child? But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he might actually be in love with Rose. He had never met anyone like her before. She intrigued him and he suddenly realized he was actually jealous of the Doctor for keeping her for himself. He came to the conclusion that he was trying to rescue her in the hope that she might love him for it.

_Once she comes to her senses, of course,_ he thought. _Once Rose realizes what The Annihilator is doing and I help free her mind, she will love me. And if she does, it will be worth risking the master's wrath. Even if she doesn't want to be with me, at least she'll be safe._

Making his mind up, Bezrek neared the edge of the mud brick roof, watching and waiting for the Doctor and Rose to come outside and head off into the desert.

"Rose?"

The Doctor gently shook Rose while she lay sleeping beside him on the bed. He had stayed awake watching and waiting till the lights went out and then waiting another hour so he could be sure everyone was asleep. Rose mumbled as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Is it time?" she asked sleepily.

"Yes. I think everyone's asleep now," he said.

Rose nodded and she sat up and got up from the bed so the Doctor could get up. She yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes while the Doctor stood up behind her. She smiled when he gave her a loving kiss on the cheek from behind.

"Mind your steps. I don't want you falling arse over elbow and waking up the household," he quietly teased.

"Oh yeah," Rose teased back. "I think you're the one who needs to watch your steps, Mister Gangly Man."

She gasped when the Doctor pinched the fleshy part of her inner arm and hurried away from her when she tried to swat at him. She reached out for him in the darkness and the Doctor took her hand and led her to the door.

"What are you, a cat? How can you see so well in the dark?" Rose whispered to him.

"I have many talents, Tyler," the Doctor whispered back.

They navigated their way through the house and when they reached the front door, the Doctor pulled back the heavy linen drape over it and they stepped outside into the chilly night air. The moon was shining down on them as they made their way silently through the town towards the desert. Rose shivered slightly in the sheer linen dress she was wearing and the Doctor drew her near and put his arm around her while they walked into the desert. In the distance, a jackal yelped and Rose hoped that they wouldn't run into it while they were examining the corpse.

"Where did you find this dead body?" Rose asked.

"Not far. A few kliks or so away from the town. But the woman's heart was ripped from the body, same as the others," he replied.

"What do you think it means?" Rose asked.

"Not sure but I don't think it's Ammit punishing sinners," the Doctor said. "I think Ammit isn't part of the Egyptian pantheon, let alone from Earth, and if we have to catch that…thing…and interrogate it personally, we're gonna get to the bottom of this before it does any more harm."

"Just as long as we don't run into any jackals while we're out here, I'll be happy," Rose said.

She looked at the Doctor when he gave her an odd look.

"What?" she said.

"Alien crocodile lion thingy doesn't faze you but jackals do?" he said with amusement.

"No, I'm also worried about the crocodile lion thingy but I just heard jackals a few minutes ago so I know they're out here."

"Not to worry, they're probably more scared of us than we are of them."

"Famous last words?" Rose said.

"Now that you mention it, yes. General Custer."

Rose glanced at him, trying to see if he was bullshitting her but his face was inscrutable while he walked with her. She figured he was having her on and decided to drop the subject. While they walked, the light wind moved the sand and some of it hit her ankles while more sand got between her toes and she began to think how much better it would be if she was wearing her trainers and her jeans and hoodie rather than a sheer, nearly see-through linen dress and sandals.

After another half hour, they reached the body. This time the body was laying on a rock, the woman's eyes staring up blankly at the moon. When they got even closer, Rose could see the gaping hole in her chest and saw flies buzzing around it. She fought the urge to puke while the Doctor calmly led her over to it.

"See, same as before, but why? What's the connection between all these deaths?" he mused while he stared at the corpse.

While he stood and thought, Rose sensed someone behind them. She turned and was taken aback when she saw who it was.

"Chisisi, what are you doing here?" she asked while the Doctor turned towards him.

"I…was curious about what you were doing. I was up on the roof and saw you leaving. Not many people venture into the desert this late at night. You found a dead body?" he said, nearing close to them.

"Um…yeah, we have," the Doctor said. "I found it earlier. I didn't want to alarm anyone so I thought I'd bring Rose out here to see it first before telling anyone else."

Bezrek's eyes went to Rose and his heart sped up when he saw the desert wind moving her blonde hair around. The sight of it blowing into her eyes and her moving it behind her ear made his longing for her increase. He neared closer to her while he pretended to study the body.

"Who is it, I wonder?" Bezrek said.

"Dunno. Maybe Ahmose would know. We need to find a way to move the body though before the carrion eaters feast on it."

Suddenly, Bezrek saw his chance to rescue Rose.

"Let me and Rose go back and get Ahmose and a few of the other villagers then," he said as calmly as he could. "We can have them bring something back to carry the body in."

Bezrek held his breath, hoping The Annihilator would agree to his plan. To his relief, he finally nodded.

"Yes. Go ahead and do that. I'm sure they'll wanna bury the body as soon as possible and I want everyone to see her and see if they can identify her. Rose, go with Chisisi."

"Will you be alright out here by yourself?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go ahead and get help," the Doctor said.

Rose nodded and Bezrek felt himself getting jealous when Rose gave his hand a quick squeeze before she turned with him and walked away. Feeling triumphant that he had managed to separate Rose from her captor, Bezrek made her walk quickly through the desert before his master used the transmat beam on the Doctor.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four

Rose hurried back to the town with Bezrek. While they walked, the wind picked up and blew her hair around her face and there were several times she had to push it out of her eyes. She was shivering more than before and she was amazed that the desert could be so incredibly hot during the day, yet turn so chilly at night.

"I hope Ahmose can wake some of his neighbors," she said as they walked. "And I hope they can identify whoever that is. Poor girl. Why is this happening?"

"Rose, wait."

Rose stopped when Bezrek grabbed her arm.

"I need to tell you something," he said.

"Yeah?" Rose replied.

"I haven't been entirely truthful."

"Oh?" Rose said, suddenly wary.

Bezrek noticed her backing away and he grabbed her arm.

"No, hear me out. You're in danger."

"I know. It's from that Ammit thing. That's why we have to go and find people who'll come back with us and…"

"No, not Ammit. The Annihilator."

Rose stared at him in confusion.

"Okay, who's that?" she finally asked.

"Your master."

"My, what?" Rose said.

"The one you call the Doctor. The one who has enslaved you."

Rose gave him an odd look before she let out a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, that's funny, Chisisi. Look, I know that you probably think women are men's property but It's not that way between me and the…"

"No, you don't understand. He has you in his power," Bezrek said urgently.

"Has me in his power," Rose said slowly. "Look, Chisisi, I don't have time for this."

"No, Rose. I am not Chisisi. My name is Bezrek and my master and I are trying to stop Sheltek Na'barak before he uses you to enact his evil plans. You must listen to me," he added while she tried to get her arm out of his grasp. "You have been enslaved by him and he's indoctrinating you so you'll become his mindless soldier."

"Get away from me!" Rose said, trying to pull her arm away from him.

"He's evil, can't you see that?" Bezrek said.

"No, he's not. He hasn't…indoctrinated me or enslaved me or harmed me. He loves me."

"The Annihilator loves no one."

"Will you stop calling him that?"

"It's true. He has destroyed planets, eradicated whole civilizations. Him and his army of brainwashed servants and that's what you are, Rose. He's brainwashing you, making you think he loves you when all he wants is for you to do his evil bidding!"

Rose finally managed to wrench her arm out of his grasp. She tried to run back to the Doctor but Bezrek grabbed her from behind. He tried to shush her when she screamed for the Doctor to help her.

"No. Don't do that. The master is trying to lure him into a transmat beam so he can take him up to his ship and dispose of him."

"DOCTOR! RUN! IT'S A TRAP! GET AWAY FROM THE CORPSE!" Rose bellowed while she tried to wriggle free of Bezrek's grasp.

"Rose?" she heard the Doctor say in the distance. "Rose!"

"Doctor! Run! Chisisi lured you into a trap and there's a transmat…"

She grunted when Bezrek hit her in the back of the head. As she fell to her knees, Bezrek picked up a nearby rock and hit her again. Rose fell onto the sand, dazed, while Bezrek dropped the rock.

"I'm sorry; child, but you can't do this. You can't warn The Annihilator. He must be punished," Bezrek said, standing over her.

"Don't do this," Rose said while she lay in the sand, "the Doctor's not evil. You got it all wrong."

"Rose?" the Doctor yelled in the distance.

"He's coming closer to us," Rose said, trying to sit up despite her throbbing head. "And when he sees what you've done, he really will become The Annihilator."

"He has bewitched you, child. You don't know what you're doing or saying. You're his puppet."

Rose let out a barking laugh. She tried to call to the Doctor and gasped when Bezrek slapped her face as hard as she could.

"You're gonna be dead in a minute, from both of us," Rose growled at him.

"Rose, please, listen to reason. The Doctor is dangerous."

"Yes, I am."

Bezrek's head jerked when he heard the Doctor and saw him walking towards him, his eyes blazing with anger.

"But Rose has nothing to fear from me. You…on the other hand…" he said as he walked towards him.

"Stay back, Sheltek Na'barak, you have lost!" Bezrek said.

"That name, it's Carkokian. You're from Carkok?" he said, stopping a few feet away from him.

"No, my master is. But I serve him faithfully. He tells me stories of you and the destruction of his home world," Bezrek said.

"Doctor, is that true?" Rose asked.

The Doctor tried to move closer to her but Bezrek stepped in between them. The Doctor narrowed his eyes at him but he decided to stay where he was for the moment until he could find an advantage over his foe.

"Yes. But…I was not responsible. It was during the Time War and the Daleks destroyed it when they realized that we were winning and taking the planet back from them. I tried to save your master's planet and I would have succeeded if the Daleks hadn't burnt it to a crisp. Your master has been telling you lies, Chisisi or whatever your name is."

"Bezrek of the Daltonians."

"Ah, I know your race. They're peace loving. How did you get mixed up with someone hell bent on destroying me?" the Doctor said.

"I was sold into slavery at a young age and my master purchased me from Troxian slave raiders. He took care of me and in return, I served him."

"And he never tried to return you to your family?" the Doctor said.

"They were murdered when the slave raiders took me."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said.

"Don't be. I had the best of care growing up."

"Did you have love though?" the Doctor asked.

He noticed Bezrek's hesitation and could see he was thinking it over.

"The Carkok's did some slave trading of their own. Did your master tell you that?" the Doctor said.

"You lie," Bezrek said.

"No, I'm not. They're famous for it. I suspect that you weren't purchased when they took you. I'm willing to bet they came upon the slave raiders selling slaves in their territory and took you and the other slaves by force, most likely after killing the Troxians or at least beating them within an inch of their lives. I've seen many Carkok slave auctions on numerous planets. I've stopped several of them as well. Perhaps that's why your master holds a grudge against me, because I've ruined his business and freed his merchandise a time or two."

Bezrek stared at him, not wanting to believe his words. Yet, he knew that there were other servants under his master's command besides him. But he wasn't ready to give up yet.

"This child," he said, pointing at Rose. "You also enslave others."

"For Christ's sake, no one's enslaved me!" Rose said angrily. "The Doctor cares for me. I'm not his puppet, as you put it."

"She's right. Rose isn't my servant," the Doctor said.

"You aren't human, I know that much. You mean to tell me that you have a human ape for a lover?"

The Doctor shrugged but said nothing.

"My master said the Time Lords were above species like hers," Bezrek said, pointing at Rose.

"Rose is no mere human," the Doctor replied. "My race considered themselves above other species, yes. But I've grown to love humans and I've chosen to come down off my high perch and ally myself with them. Rose is one of those allies and she helps me of her own free will."

Bezrek grunted when Rose shoved him hard after finally getting back on her feet. She walked around him and took the Doctor's hand.

"Doctor, he said that there's a transmat beam coming to get you. It's a trap," she said.

The Doctor nodded.

"Let it find me. I want to see this so-called master myself," he replied.

"You would let yourself be caught?" Bezrek said in disbelief.

"If it means putting a stop to the murders and whatever else your master has planned, yes," the Doctor said.

"You truly are insane," Bezrek said.

The Doctor smirked at that.

"No more insane than you are. At least I don't willingly serve someone in return for my room and board. Rose follows me because I have earned her respect, not because of some misplaced loyalty because I decided to take her one day and make it look like I was rescuing her from some dark fate. People like the Carkok are master manipulators and I'm sure your master is no different. He used your circumstances against you. He took you from bondage into another sort of bondage and made it seemed like he was doing you a favor so you'd feel indebted to him for the rest of your life. That way he has kept you enslaved without the use of whips or chains and now you are helping to capture the one man who can put a stop to him and what I suspect is his illegal slave ring, among other activities. Now who's the insane one?"

Bezrek didn't know what to think. He wanted to believe his master, but the Time Lord's words made sense to him. He saw Rose standing close to him and realized that she didn't look like she was under his thrall. The way she looked at him was someone in love, not someone in mindless bondage or brainwashed servitude. The Doctor saw the conflict on Bezrek's face and knew he was getting through to him.

"Help us," he said to Bezrek. "Please. You obviously care for Rose. You were leading her away from me so she wouldn't get caught, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, I was defying my master's commands and taking her away before the transmat beam took you."

"Defying, eh? So you're not as brainwashed as I thought," the Doctor said. "You've taken this one small step of defiance, Bezrek. Now follow through and help us defeat him and this Ammit creature."

"But if you let yourself be captured by him…this is madness. How will delivering yourself into his hands help you?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," the Doctor said. "Pretending to be beaten and groveling for mercy in front of a megalomaniac strokes their ego and lets their guard down. If they think they've won, they'll be more careless if you seem to be at their mercy. I've used that tactic many times. Plus, it helps me figure out what his game is."

"What about Rose then?" Bezrek said.

"I want to go with you," Rose said. "If I'm supposed to be caught as well, he won't punish Bezrek or spend time looking for me. If he has us both, it'll also help to let his guard down. Please let me go with you."

The Doctor examined the back of her head where Bezrek hit her. Bezrek shivered when he saw his brown eyes darken to a coal blackness for a moment while he examined the wound.

"You gave her a lump but that's it, luckily for you," he said, giving Bezrek a pointed look. "As for going with me, I know how pointless it is to try to stop you from going with me."

"Yup!" Rose said, smugly.

"And you…" the Doctor said to Bezrek. "Are you going to help us?"

He felt himself nodding and incredibly he realized he actually did want to help them. The Doctor studied his face for a moment before he nodded, satisfied that Bezrek was telling the truth. The Doctor looked around.

"So, where is this transmat beam then?" he said to him.

"Ammit was supposed to herd you into it," Bezrek said.

"Really? Where is Ammit then?"

Rose and Bezrek froze when they heard growling coming from behind the Doctor. The Doctor calmly turned with them and saw Ammit approaching, his tongue licking his snout while he eyed his victims hungrily.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five

"Rose, stay back with Bezrek, let me try to distract this creature while you run," the Doctor said softly to Rose.

She nodded and stepped backwards to Bezrek's side. The Doctor looked around, picked a large rock up off the ground and showed it to the creature.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the Doctor said to Ammit.

"He won't listen, Doctor. He won't listen to anyone except my master," Bezrek said.

"What is he, where is he from?" the Doctor said as he, Rose and Bezrek slowly backed up.

"I'm not sure. Master acquired him from somewhere. Said he might be useful," Bezrek replied.

Ammit suddenly lunged at them and snapped his jaws. The Doctor could tell that he wasn't really attacking so much as herding them. He decided to let the beast do so in order to find out what was going on. He backed up beside Rose and they slowly stepped backwards while Ammit followed them, occasionally snapping his jaws in a threatening way.

"Why are we being herded? Why don't they activate the transmit and have done with it?" Rose asked as they continued to back up.

"Probably a huge ship and it takes time for it to turn or move into position. It's easier just to have Fido move us to the spot where we can be picked up," the Doctor said.

Suddenly a bright light surrounded all of them.

"And here's the spot right now," the Doctor said.

They felt themselves rising into the air. The transmat beamed them up to a massive ship. They were taken into a large room. The transmat stopped and they rematerialized on a large metal circular platform. The Doctor looked around and didn't see anyone yet. He leaned into to Bezrek.

"Bezrek, he'll let you go. Think you can find a way to secretly rescue us since you won't be under suspicion?" the Doctor said softly.

"Yes, I'll try. What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. Try to protect Rose if you can but if not, don't worry about it. Just don't let on that you've switched sides," the Doctor said to him.

Bezrek nodded. He pulled his head away from the Doctor when a door slid open and guards dressed in black leather loincloths that resembled the Doctor's linen loincloth marched into the room. The guards, he noticed, were reptilian. Snake-like beings that had a snake hieroglyph tattooed on their chests. Underneath it was some Egyptian writing. The Doctor read what it said and leaned into Rose's ear.

"The Brotherhood of Apophis," he muttered to her.

"That's who these people are?" Rose muttered back.

"It's what the hieroglyphs on their chests say," the Doctor said. "These aren't Carkokians. Perhaps they're hired muscle?"

"Kneel!" One of the reptiles said to them as they came up on the platform. "All of you except for Bezrek and Ammit. You may leave."

The Doctor shared a glance with Bezrek before he and Ammit walked through the guards and left the platform.

"Good day," the Doctor said to them. "Hired help? I'd love to meet your boss."

"Silence!" one of them hissed. "You will rise and follow us and you will not resist or you will both suffer."

"Where have I heard that before?" the Doctor muttered to Rose as they stood up.

The guards surrounded them and marched them off the platform. Rose took the Doctor's hand and he smiled while he gave it a squeeze. When they left the room, the Doctor caught sight of Bezrek. He was standing off to the side, watching them walk away. The Doctor and him exchanged a glance before the Doctor turned his head back to the front. Bezrek watched while the guards marched his new friends towards his master's chambers and he felt rage slowly building up inside him.

"You aren't going to hurt anymore people, master," Bezrek said. "Especially not Rose."

He followed at a distance. Ammit had already left and was more than likely with his master. He wondered if his master was going to turn Ammit loose on the Doctor. He had heard the ancient Egyptian tales about how the mythical Ammit ate the hearts of sinners and he knew his master viewed the Doctor that way. His fists clenched and his jaw tightened as he followed the guards.

The guards stopped at a sliding metal door, opened it and ushered the prisoners inside. The room had a dais at the back. It had a metal chair with a leather cushion and back. There was a metal table beside it. Off to the side of the dais was another metal door and along the left side of the room were a control panel and a metal shelf that was filled with torture implements. On the right side of the room were a flat metal bed with a plump mattress and a black blanket with black pillow. The guards made the Doctor and Rose kneel in front of the dais while Bezrek slipped inside and stood by the door while it slid closed. The Doctor looked around calmly and looked up at the lizard guards.

"So, where is our host?" he said to them.

As if on cue, the back door slid open and Ammit pranced into the room, a self satisfied look on his face and evidence of blood on his snout. He climbed up on the dais and lay down beside the chair. Then a man entered, another reptilian like the guards. He was dressed in a black loincloth like his guards but he also wore a purple robe that was trimmed with white fur. He had the same tattoos on his chest but there was an extra tattoo next to the one indicating he belonged to the Brotherhood of Apophis. The Doctor read the other tattoo as the reptilian mounted the dais and turned to face them.

"Ah, you are Apophis himself?" the Doctor said. "Brilliant. Where is the one known as the master?"

"I am he, Time Lord," Apophis said.

A confused look came over the Doctor's face.

"No, wait, you're Carkokian. My charming little epithet is from the Carkokian language," the Doctor said.

"We borrowed the charming little epithet as you put it from the Carkokians when they came to work for us. We are one of the Osirians, although we were banished from Earth and now we are here to reclaim the Earth for our own. The other Osirians are now long gone and only we remain, we are the rightful masters of Earth."

"And your pet?" The Doctor said, gesturing to Ammit.

"A curious creature. A scientist on a distant planet genetically engineered him from Earth animals. I know the legends the humans made around us and I know of Ammit, the devourer of souls. This creature resembled the Ammit of myth so I decided to use her to put fear into the hearts of the humans and kill anyone who threatened to discover our existence.

"Femi?" Rose said.

"She saw Bezrek out in the desert and followed him. He and my workers are building a plasma cannon in a secret chamber beneath the sands. She saw the chamber and the cannon and once Bezrek alerted me to her existence, I sent my pet to deal with her."

Bezrek felt sick to his stomach. He knew now that Femi was Ahmose and Amisi's child and both of them had taken him in and had been kind to him. Guilt flooded his mind.

"What about the captain of the guard in the palace?" the Doctor asked.

"I sent him to kill that fool to prevent him from killing you. I wanted you all to myself, Sheltek Na'barak and now I finally have you."

"Yes, hurrah, you're very clever. You have me, not let Rose go," the Doctor said.

"No. She has seen too much. She must die before she tells others of our existence. Besides, she is one of your disciples which makes her a threat to us. She cannot be allowed to live."

"So what are you going to do to us?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm not sure. I thought perhaps I would let my pet have you. After all, it would be fitting to let Ammit devours your wicked heart in accordance with the human's myths. But you have a mind that might be put to better use in the service of the Osirians. I have a way to turn you into a living mummy and enslave your mind. I may do that. As for your disciple…perhaps mummified and buried alive inside the heart of the Great Pyramid of Giza so that Earth archaeologists can discover her remains centuries from now."

"I'm warning you, if you do anything to her," the Doctor growled. "You'll live to regret it."

"Or…" Apophis said, ignoring him. "Perhaps I can use her as a concubine. I have never had a human concubine and even though the bare pink skin is repulsive, perhaps I can get used to her in time."

"If you think I'm shagging you, you're mistaken," Rose said.

"Perhaps evisceration?" Apophis said, continuing to ignore them. "Open her up and keep her on life support while I slowly remove her innards. You know, I have a way to keep her alive even if all organs are removed. How about that, Doctor? Would you like to watch your helper become a shell, empty except for her brain which would of course would be removed last after she has experienced the full horror of having nothing left inside her. And of course, the humans during mummification took a long metal rod, went up through the nose, scrambled up the brains and let them come out through the nose. Perhaps I could do that in keeping with tradition. My, my, so many possibilities here, I'm not sure what I want to do with the two of you.

Suddenly, Apophis let out a delighted laugh and clapped his hands together.

"I know," he said, walking down off the dais. "I know what I could do with this pretty Earthling."

"What?" the Doctor growled.

"I shall give you a choice, Sheltek Na'barak, between two methods of execution. You see, I think it would be fun to let you be her executioner since you have experience with killing others. So here are your choices. You can either mummify her alive, put her in a sarcophagus in the Great Pyramid and leave her to suffocate to death or you can do what I suggested and slowly eviscerate her while life support systems keep her alive."

"How about I let her go and do neither," the Doctor said.

"Not an option. If you won't choose between my options, I will choose another one that is a hundred times more horrifying. Perhaps slow digestion in the belly of the Mungus plant and make sure that Rose is fitted with a microphone that will withstand the stomach acid so you can hear her screaming and crying for help while she's slowly digested. Choose, Doctor, or I choose that for her."

Bezrek barely could contain the rage. He had to fight to restrain himself. He knew the Doctor was counting on him to aid in their rescue. He waited with baited breath while Apophis waited for the Doctor's answer.

"If she's going to die, let me kill her quickly and painlessly," the Doctor finally said. "She's innocent."

"No one who helps you is innocent, Doctor. She chose her fate the moment she decided to become your acolyte and she will suffer accordingly. Now which is it?"

The Doctor looked at Rose and saw love and complete trust on her face. He put his hand on her arm while he gazed at her.

"I choose mummification," the Doctor said, figuring maybe that could buy him some time.

"Very well. Guards, prepare my laboratory. Bring fresh linen, resin and oh, some of those little Earth amulets the superstitious humans used to bury with their dead. Might as well give the girl the full Egyptian sendoff, eh?"

While Apophis ordered the guards to do his bidding and take them to the laboratory. Rose leaned into the Doctor's ear.

"I trust you, my love. I'm not afraid," she whispered.

The Doctor gave her a tender look and leaned into her ear.

"If it looks hopeless, I will do something to end your suffering. I won't let you be buried alive."

Rose nodded. The Doctor smiled when she quickly leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before Apophis ordered them to stand. The Doctor took Rose's hand and the guards surrounded them as they led them to the back door and out of the room. Bezrek waited until Apophis and Ammit followed them out before he clenched his jaw and followed them.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty Six

The Doctor walked behind Rose, protecting her back and keeping her safe from the reptile guards. While they walked, his mind was working overtime, trying to find a way out of their predicament. Bezrek volunteered to help but he couldn't be a hundred percent sure that he would help them in the end. They entered the lab and the Doctor saw an examination table in the center that had leather straps running down it. Beside it was a large table that had a huge pile of linen strips of cloth, a large jar of pine resin with a small paintbrush and several Egyptian amulets. The Doctor led Rose to the table and pretended to examine the resin while Apophis watched.

"No, no, no, this won't do at all," the Doctor finally said, shaking his head.

"Something wrong, Time Lord?" Apophis asked.

"Yes, you have the wrong mixture of resin. This isn't how they did it," he said, picking up the jar and showing it to him. "This is rubbish. I can't use it."

"I know how to mix pine resin, Time Lord. I am an Osirian."

"And I'm a Time Lord that's visited Earth many times in general and Ancient Egypt in particular. I've seen several mummifications and I've even assisted on a few. This is not how resin is made. You want me to do this and do this properly, then let me make the resin myself."

"Very well, the lab is at your disposal. But this better not be a trick, Time Lord, or Rose'll end up with her organs removed from her body."

"I'm not going to trick anyone. I just want to make sure this is done properly. Having said that, where's the natron salts. She has to lie buried in a pile of natron salts for about 70 days so all the water will be taken out of her body and I need canopic jars to house the major organs, not to mention the brain scrambly rod that'll let her brains drain out of her nose. Oh and the sarcophagus with the ancient spells that'll allow her to travel though the underworld to the land of the dead. Not to mention I need an Egyptian book of the dead so she'll be have all the proper spells and I need an Anubis mask to wear since I'm the chief embalmer."

"Just do it," Apophis said angrily.

"Okay, can I have some privacy then? I would like to have time alone with Rose while I'm mummifying her alive. I won't escape. Just post some guards outside the door, yeah?"

"Alright, but don't try anything funny," Apophis said.

"Wouldn't think of it, Pophy-boy," the Doctor said.

Apophis let out an angry hiss. He signaled for the guards to follow him. They went outside and the door slid shut.

"Was that true?" Rose said softly. "About the resin?"

"I have no idea, I was saying that to get him out of the room so we can be alone," the Doctor said. "I never made the resin and he probably knows more about it than I do. I just needed to get him out of here so I can make something else."

"What are you making?" Rose asked, as she watched him move over to the cabinets.

The Doctor didn't answer her as he started examining the contents and taking things out of them. Rose watched while he lit a Bunsen burner and began mixing things into a beaker. She slid off the table and walked over to him. She watched him put a white powder into the beaker, put in a gray powder and mix in a bit of water. Her eyebrow rose when the mixture bubbled and fizzled. The Doctor stirred it with a metal stirrer and added a brown powder which made the concoction bubble faster.

"What are you doing? Making explosives?" Rose asked him.

"No," the Doctor said in a low voice as he added an oily looking serum to the mixture. "I'm making something that will kill you quickly and painlessly if I'm forced to do it."

Rose swallowed hard and looked at the blank look on the Doctor's face while he stirred the mixture. She recognized the look. He was masking his true emotions but she knew deep inside this was torment for him since he was making it in order to kill the woman he loved. She neared closer to him and put her hand on her arm, softly whispering her love for him and telling him that she knew it would never come to this. The Doctor replied with a soft kiss to the forehead before he picked up some plastic clamps, grabbed the beaker and held it over the Bunsen burner. Rose watched while the moisture was burned away, leaving a dark powder behind. He took a wooden stopper, capped the beaker and stuck it in his pocket once the beaker was cooled down. He glanced at the door as he took Rose's hand and led her back to the table.

"I'm going to start this just in case they look in on us," the Doctor said to her. "But I'm not going to mummify you completely. We're either going to make our escape before then or if we can't…"

He trailed off but Rose knew what was left unspoken. She gave him a sad look as she tried to stroke his cheek but he stepped away from her at the last minute and walked around to the linen. He pulled out a strip and took Rose's left arm. Rose watched while he began to wrap the linen around her arm, starting at her wrist and working up.

"I'm leaving your wrist free in case you have to fight," the Doctor explained while he worked. "I just want to give the illusion of compliance."

Rose nodded. She watched while the Doctor wrapped her arm.

"Were you tellin' the truth when you said you used to help with this sort of thing?" she asked him.

"I was in Memphis and became very close to Ramses the 2nd, ended up being a sort of royal adviser and I was invited to see a couple of mummification of important people, nobles that were close to the pharaoh and his family. After witnessing a couple of them, I requested that I would like to help with one and they showed me how to do it. It's fascinating. However, I don't fancy it would be fascinating if you were being buried alive. There were several people who were buried alive though, thieves mainly, tomb robbers. They were mummified and buried in the tombs they tried to plunder or sealed up in unused tombs."

Rose shivered at that, thinking of someone lying in a dark tomb screaming for help until they died. The Doctor's voice was once again neutral as well as his face, all of it masking his true feelings. She figured talking about it was helping to keep his feelings calm and under control. While he was wrapping her arm, she glanced at the amulets on the table and saw an Eye of Ra, an ankh, a little blue goblin-like creature, a anthropomorphic jackal that she figured was a representation of Anubis and one that looked like an odd pillar. When she asked about it, the Doctor told her about them while he worked. Rose figured that she might as well keep him talking while he was doing this and help him to keep his mind off of what he was doing.

While he was working, the door opened and Rose saw Bezrek enter. The door slid back and the Doctor stopped his work and turned to him. The bandage covered Rose's left arm from her wrist up to her shoulder with a gap over the elbow so she could still move her arm. Bezrek saw his handiwork and paled.

"Surely you aren't going to go through with this," he said to the Doctor.

"Of course not, but I wanted to make it look like I was while we tried to buy some time," the Doctor said to him. "If you notice I left her hand free and she's able to still bend her elbow so she can still use her arm if she needs it."

"Master said that you made him leave. Something about the resin not being right."

The Doctor looked at him for a moment, debating on whether he should tell Bezrek the truth.

"I told him that so I could have time alone to think," he finally said, leaving out the fact that he had made the powder for Rose.

So far Bezrek seemed to be on his side but he didn't want him to know about the powder in case he needed to use it. The last thing he wanted was for someone to prevent him from using it and for Rose to end up on life support while her organs were removed one by one.

"I think I can help you," Bezrek said in a low voice to the Doctor while he pretended to pick through the linen strips. "My master still trusts me which is why I'm in here. I told him I was going to check and see if you were doing as he commanded."

"And I am, look," the Doctor said, holding out Rose's arm. "And it's nicely done, don't you think?"

"Do the other one now," Rose said.

The Doctor looked at her with a confused look on his face.

"You want me to wrap up your other arm?" he said.

"Yeah and both my legs. I was freezing in this dress and now for the first time in a long time, my arm is warm. Do the other one now," Rose said.

She winked at him when he rolled his eyes.

"So…is there something you can do before I have to wrap her up completely?" the Doctor said to Bezrek.

"My master told me that you were going to entomb her in the Great Pyramid at Giza."

"Yup," the Doctor said.

"I asked him if we should go there now rather than wait so we'll be there when she's finished," Bezrek said.

"And?" the Doctor said.

"I have been in the same room when my master studied schematics of the pyramid and its interior. I've also seen three dimensional representations of the interior. It looks big and dark and confusing."

"Yes, it was. That was to deter thieves or confuse them if they got inside it," the Doctor said.

"Well, if it confused thieves, perhaps it'll confuse my master and his men," Bezrek said.

The Doctor considered that.

"I've been inside the Great Pyramid before," the Doctor said. "If we got inside it, I think I could do just that, confuse them and get them lost. And there was a chamber that was located at the very bottom of the pyramid near the base. I think I can trap them there."

"But in order to do that, you'll have to wrap Rose up completely," Bezrek pointed out.

The Doctor considered that.

"Do it, whatever you have to do to get us out of this," Rose said. "I trust you, I always have and I always will."

"I think I can wrap her up where she can still breathe and be comfortable, but make it look convincing. I think I'll use the resin in a few places to make it look like I used it. I'll make it loose in the back though so I can cut her out of it quickly. We can't carry her through the pyramids. The path is treacherous enough without that."

Bezrek nodded.

"I'll assist you then so we can hurry with this. Just tell me what to do."

The Doctor nodded. Rose lay back down on the table and he picked up another strip of cloth.

"Well, Rose, you got your wish," the Doctor said to her. "You're about to be nice and warm."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty Seven

"It took a couple of hours but the Doctor finally managed to wrap Rose until only her face and hands were visible. He had left enough room in back to cut her out of the wrappings and applied resin in a few key areas so it looked like he'd been using it. Bezrek admired his work when he was finished.

"Impressive," he said, looking Rose over.

"Thank you. I didn't use very much resin, it's all in wrapping the body that makes the mummy," he said. "So…Rose, comfy? You said you were cold earlier."

"I was but this is too much, now I'm overheated," Rose said.

"Sorry. It was either this or evisceration," the Doctor said.

"I know. Trust me, I'm not complaining," Rose said.

As the Doctor put everything away, Bezrek came up beside her.

"I'll be glad when you lot get me outta this," she said to him.

Bezrek didn't reply. He laid his hand against her linen covered cheek.

"I know that you're with him but I can't help but admire your beauty," he said to her. "You would have been elevated to royalty on my planet."

"Really? I'm not of royal blood," Rose said to him.

"Doesn't matter. The beautiful people are revered on my planet and you are one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen."

"I don't feel beautiful, wrapped up like this at the moment," Rose said.

"Ah but not even mummy wrappings can diminish your loveliness," Bezrek said.

"Cor, listen to him, Doctor. He knows how to charm women," Rose said as the Doctor turned back to her.

"Well, I agree. You are lovely," the Doctor said. "However, I have to cover that lovely face with more bandages. Loosely, of course, so you can breathe but this is just a friendly warning."

Rose nodded and the Doctor asked Bezrek to go and tell Apophis that they were nearly ready. Bezrek nodded and left while the Doctor held Rose's head and loosely wrapped linen around it, making sure that she had an opening over her nose so she could breathe. By the time he was done, Bezrek had brought Apophis back into the room.

"Ah, so you obeyed, good," he said, looking Rose over.

"I had no choice. I don't want Rose cut open and her organs strewn all over the floor," the Doctor said to him.

"Yes, that would have been a nasty death, however, it would have been less painful since the only pain she would have felt was when her chest and stomach were opened. She would never have felt the organs being removed, whereas this…she will slowly suffocate to death in a dark, airless tomb so I doubt you made the more merciful choice."

He came closer to the Doctor and stared at him with his reptilian eyes.

"Unless you think you can save her at some point," he said.

The Doctor stared back calmly and shrugged.

"Stranger things have happened. The universe is unpredictable," he said.

"As am I, Doctor. I can be very unpredictable and I suggest you don't try anything you might regret. Now, bring her with you and follow me," Apophis said, pointing to Rose.

"Aye, aye, Sargeant Slytherin," the Doctor said, saluting.

Bezrek walked beside him while the Doctor picked up Rose. He had wrapped the linen loosely enough that she could bend at the waist and the Doctor hoped that wasn't a dead giveaway that she wasn't confined in the wraps as he followed them. As they left the lab, Apophis's guards fell in behind them, guarding the Doctor. The Doctor looked back at them.

"What I wouldn't give to have a flute and a wicker basket at this moment," he said to them.

They didn't answer and the Doctor shrugged and turned his head back to Apophis. Bezrek looked back at him and shared a look with the Time Lord before he turned his head back around. The Doctor smirked at Apophis's back as he followed them. They went to the control room and the Doctor stood near Apophis, flanked by guards while one of the reptiles cloaked the ship and slowly lowered it near the pyramid of giza. When they were about 500 feet above it, Apophis ordered the Doctor to come with him and Bezrek and told two guards to keep watch over him. They walked to the transmat beam and in a few seconds they were standing at the base of the great pyramid. The Doctor looked around but apart from them, no one was out in the desert. The temperature was sweltering and the Doctor could hear Rose curse softly. He felt sorry for her, knowing the bandages that had kept her warm inside were now making her sweat uncontrollably. He glanced at the guard to his left and noticed the long dagger in a sheath on a leather belt around his waist. The Doctor made note of it before Apophis ordered everyone to follow him.

They walked around to the side and here there was shade. The air was less oppressive and the Doctor could hear a small sigh of relief from Rose. Apophis said something in Egyptian and several of the stones in the pyramid slid back several feet and then parted, making a doorway. Apophis led them all inside and the guards pulled glow sticks out of a leather holder on their belts and turned them on, flooding a dark corridor with weak light. The stones moved back into place and Apophis turned to Bezrek.

"Lead them to the crypt room. The guards will assist you," Apophis said. "I will wait here. Be warned, Doctor, I can teleport to your location in a heartbeat so don't try anything stupid."

"Got ya," the Doctor said.

One of the guards nudged him in the back with his staff and the Doctor sighed angrily while Bezrek led them down the corridor. The corridor was narrow on all sides and the air was musty and dusty. The Doctor activated his bypass system while he followed Bezrek down the corridor.

"You know that at the end of this, we'll have to climb a ladder to the next level," the Doctor said to Bezrek. "I'll have to put Rose over my shoulder while I climb up."

"No need. We have an antigravity platform that will take us up. Ladders are for humans," Bezrek said.

"Good, I didn't like the sound of being slung over your shoulder," Rose said in a muffled voice.

They reached the end of the corridor. Above them was a dark shaft that led upwards to the next corridor. Bezrek had everyone get in close before he bent down and moved the sand at their feet till he found the silver disc of the antigravity platform. He found the up and down buttons and pushed the up button. There was a lurch as the platform came up out of the sand that had hidden it and they glided upwards through the shaft. Off to their left side was a very crude wooden ladder, the rungs lashed to two wooden poles with rawhide ropes. The Doctor stared at the ladder and gave silent thanks that he wouldn't have to climb it with Rose over his shoulder.

When the platform reached the next level, the corridor was off to their left. It sloped upwards to the burial chamber. Everyone struggled to keep their footing as they walked up the narrow, slanted corridor. The light sticks barely lit the corridor and it was hard to tell what was in front of them since the light barely extended five feet all around them. The added weight of Rose's body put pressure on his legs as he climbed upward and they were beginning to ache. He hoped whatever Bezrek had in mind, it would happen soon.

Finally, after a half hour of climbing, the corridor leveled out and they walked up to a heavy stone door. The door had carvings of Egyptian priests on them with hieroglyphic writing down the side. The doors had stone handles and there was a heavy rope tying them closed with a small clay seal that signified the doors had been sealed shut and hadn't been opened. Bezrek broke the seal and untied the rope while everyone waited. He put the rope aside and with a grunt swung open the heavy stone doors.

"What's going on?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"We're going into ASDA for a few things," the Doctor said.

"P'eh, I wish," Rose said while the Doctor chuckled.

"Bezrek's opening the door to the burial chamber," the Doctor said.

Once the doors were opened, Bezrek told all of them to enter. They entered the stone room and the Doctor looked around. The walls were undecorated and the only thing in the room was a rectangular stone sarcophagus. On the back of the wall was a small round hole. The hole was part of a shaft that led up the rest of the pyramid to another hole near the top of the pyramid. This allowed a bit of air to come into the room so it wasn't as musty smelling as the corridors but it still smelled old. Bezrek ordered the guards to lift the top off the sarcophagus. The guards walked over and got on either side of it, grunting as they tried to lift the heavy stone lid up and off the sarcophagus. While they were doing that, Bezrek took one of the guard's daggers and to the Doctor's amazement, he began cutting the linen off of Rose's body.

"Much appreciated but isn't it a bit early to do this?" the Doctor muttered to him as he nodded his head to the guards. "They are still in the room."

"No worries, they're with me," Bezrek said.

The Doctor nodded and smiled when he was finally able to put Rose on her feet once Bezrek cut the linen off her feet and legs. He worked his way up and the guards stood and watched while the Doctor unraveled the linen off her head, exposing her face. Rose made a face when she smelled the stale air.

"Ugh, they need some air freshener in this place," she said.

The Doctor took the knife from Bezrek and carefully cut the rest of the linen off her head. Rose breathed a sigh of relief when she was finally able to move her sweat slicked hair back away from her face. She looked around at the crypt and then at the open sarcophagus as the guards came towards them.

"Wait, if the guards are with you, why did you make them go through the trouble of opening the crypt," Rose said.

The Doctor got a warning flag when the guards suddenly came up behind them. He then noticed Bezrek's smirk.

"Because, my love, it's still going to be occupied, but not by you," Bezrek said.

Before they could react to that, the guards rammed their staffs into Rose and the Doctor's heads. The last thing the Doctor heard before he lost consciousness was Bezrek's joyful laugh.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty Eight

The Doctor slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying inside the sarcophagus and the lid was back on it. A glow stick lay on his left side, giving him light and above him was a small silver box taped to the lid that the Doctor recognized as a tape recorder. Figuring he was supposed to listen to it, he hit the play button and his blood boiled when he heard Bezrek chuckle.

"Hello, Doctor, did I surprise you?" Bezrek said. "I expect I did since you were such a naïve fool believing I was helping you. That's what surprised me about you. You were so eager to believe that I'd turn traitor against my master that you didn't question what was going on, you just accepted that we were working together. And now here you are, inside a crypt with a very limited air supply and a lid that is extremely heavy for one person to lift. And if by some miracle you could lift it, you would find yourself locked inside the burial chamber with no food or water and only a little hole for air, not a very pretty way to die. If I were you, I'd just stay inside the sarcophagus and let the air run off. That way you would become unconscious and have a very easy, quick death. Now as for Rose, don't worry, she's not in the tomb with you. I mean what I said about making her into a queen…my queen. I know you and she have a relationship but unlike you, I can give her the best of everything. I can take her home where she'll be worshipped for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, you can't do the same since you…blew up your home. But don't fret any more; soon you'll be with your people again in the great hereafter. But if you do die you better hope the Egyptians aren't right about the afterlife because you don't have your little spell book to help you fight off all the demons on the way to getting your heart weighted. But I suppose it won't matter because with all the death and destruction and chaos you've brought to the universe, your heart wouldn't weigh less than a feather. The moment it sank like a stone, something similar to Ammit would devour it and you'd become a nonentity. Perhaps this is a fitting end then, Doctor. You are finally going to face the consequences of your actions and better yet, I managed to stop another of your acolytes from going down with you. Enjoy the afterlife, Sheltek Na'barak and try not to end up in Hell.

The Doctor growled and slammed his hand against the top of the lid.

"You better pray I don't get out of here, Bezrek because I'll make your life Hell right here on Earth."

He calmed himself and lay still, conserving his oxygen while he tried to think of a way out.

Meanwhile, Rose was just waking up. She winced as she tried to open her eyes and realized she had an enormous headache.

"Doctor?" she groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. "Doctor, are you here?"

"No."

Rose's eyes snapped open. Bezrek was sitting in a gold chair several feet in front of her. She looked down and noticed she was lying curled up on a large gold colored feather down pillow. Her everyday linen dress had been taken away and she was topless with a linen skirt that was secured with a broad gold belt. She had a golden collar around her neck and two snake bracelets that curled around both arms. She reached up and felt a headband that was encircling her head. She sat up and looked down at a manacle around her ankle. A chain went from the manacle to a ring embedded in the stone floor about twenty feet from her. Beyond the ring was a king sized bed that had a tan duvet on it. She stared at the bed and then looked at Bezrek who was watching her with a smirk on his face.

"The Doctor trusted you," Rose said to him.

"I know, that's what's so amusing about all this," Bezrek said. "The scourge of the universe also seems to be as naïve as a newborn babe and as stupid as a post. I didn't think it was going to be easy getting you away from him but I guess I was wrong."

"And now that you have me, what are you going to do with me?"

"Make you into a queen like I said I would. I wasn't lying, Rose, about my planet treating you like royalty. They would worship you, as I worship you. And the great thing is, Master let me have you as a reward for getting rid of Sheltek Na'barak. So I can do whatever I want with you. But don't worry, I'll be gentle. Unlike your master, I would never put you in harm's way."

"He's not my master," Rose said.

"Oh that's right, I'm sorry, your lover. The man who brainwashed and beguiled you into loving him."

"He didn't brainwash or beguile me. I fell in love with him on my own," Rose said, getting up and walking towards him. "And you're wrong about him. He's not a fool or a holy terror. The Doctor tries to protect people, not destroy them."

"Really? Because that's not what I've heard. Master told me about the Time War and what he did during it."

"He was a soldier. He had to fight like all soldiers do," Rose said angrily.

"Not all soldiers devastate entire planets, Rose, which is what he did. The man has killed and spread and death and destruction. He's dangerous."

"Not to me," Rose said. "I've never had any reason to fear him and in fact, he's been sweet and loving towards me. The only people who need to fear them are evildoers like you."

"Me?" Bezrek said. "Oh, Rose, you poor little fool. See! He's brainwashed you into thinking he can do no wrong and if he does do something wrong, I'm sure you just ignore it or rationalize it away by saying, oh, he's just a sweet bloke who happens to be a soldier fighting for good. I did you a favor by taking you away from him. You're not the only one he's done this to. He's had many disciples over the centuries and he brainwashes them until they're ready to die for him. Is that what you'd do, Rose? Die for him?"

Rose fell silent while Bezrek waited for her to answer.

"See, your silence says it all," he said when Rose didn't say anything. "You've fallen in love with him and he's encouraged that so you'll do anything he says."

"And what about you? You apparently fell in love with me," Rose said.

"Yes, but unlike him, I'm not going to enslave you."

Rose gave him a pointed look as she reached down and picked up the chain.

"That's only a temporary measure until you come to your senses," Bezrek said. "When you're free of his influence, I'll stop using that."

"When I fall in love with you, you mean," Rose said, dropping the chain. "You're just afraid I'll run back to him and leave you behind."

"I am afraid you'll run back to him, yes," Bezrek said. "You're not yourself and I need to keep an eye on you until his influence wanes."

"Well in that case, you've got centuries to wait, mate," Rose said. "Because if you think I'm gonna "come to my senses", as you put it, you're gonna have to keep this chain on my leg because I'm gonna find a way to get back to the Doctor if it kills me. And speaking of killing, take me to him before he dies and you land up no better than him."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Master commanded me to kill Sheltek Na…"

"And you can quit calling him that," Rose said, cutting him off. "Take me to him.

"Rose, it'd be so much easier if you just let me help you and forgot about him."

"Yeah, I'm sure it would be easier for you but I'm not gonna forget about him and if he dies, I'll wait till your guard is down and murder ya so take me to him."

"Rose…"

He gasped when Rose ran up, seized the arms of his chair and got in his face.

"I'm not going to sit here on my comfy pillow and let him suffocate to death," Rose snarled at him. "If making a deal with you is what it takes, then fine. I'll be your girlfriend if you let him live and let him go."

"You honestly think Master is gonna do that?" Bezrek said calmly.

"Then let him live and let him be a slave. I'd rather see him enslaved than dead but if he does die, I'm gonna go berserk and you won't think I'm such a cute little concubine when I rip your spine out of your back."

"Rose, you can't do this. Master has let you be with me but he can change his mind if you cause too much trouble."

"THEN I'LL CAUSE TROUBLE!"

Bezrek flinched when Rose bellowed at him and he flinched when he saw her enraged face.

"I LOVE THE DOCTOR AND IF YOU WON'T LET HIM GO, THEN LET ME BE WITH HIM BECAUSE I'D RATHER DIE THAN BE STUCK HERE WITH YOU!"

Bezrek was shocked into silence for a moment at the fury on Rose's face.

"If you think I'm brainwashed, so be it. I don't care. I will never love you, no matter what you do, and if the Doctor dies, I'll do everything in my power to kill myself so I can be with him. So…I'll make you a deal. You let him go and let him be your slave instead and I won't bash my brains out on the stone wall over there. Your decision, mate."

Bezrek stared at her in shock but he could tell that she was completely serious. He never harbored any delusion that Rose would fall instantly in love with him and be free of the Doctor's influence just like that, but he underestimated her devotion to him. He hated to admit it but he had no doubts now that she probably would kill herself rather than live out her life as his lover.

"Well? I'm waiting," Rose prompted when he didn't say anything.

Bezrek locked eyes with her but Rose didn't flinch. Finally, he rose from his chair.

"I need to speak with my Master about all this," he said.

Without another word, he turned and hurried out of the room. Rose let out a frustrated yell and kicked the leg of the chair before she turned and walked back to her pillow.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty Nine

"Bezrek, are you seriously suggesting that we let Sheltek Na'barak go after we finally caught and executed him?" Apophis said after his acolyte explained the situation to him.

Apophis was sitting in his throne room on the ship. Two guards flanked his large gold throne while he sat and sipped wine from a gold goblet that was in the shape of a coiling snake.

"Please, Master, just do this for me. If you don't, Rose will kill herself."

"Oh dear, oh dear, wouldn't that be a pity," Apophis said dryly. "Bezrek, I understand how fond you are of your new pet but to let Sheltek Na'barak go and then watch him turn right around and come after us? Have you lost your mind?"

"I've been thinking though," Bezrek said. "Why kill Sheltek Na'barak when you can enslave him…"

"He's too dangerous, Bezrek," Apophis said.

"Hear me out, Master. Give him a lobotomy or damage his mind so he won't be a threat but still be able to carry out your commands."

Apophis swirled the wine around in his goblet while he considered that.

"I must admit it is tempting," he said as he stared at the wine. "The greatest threat in the universe, my obedient slave. You're right; it would be a waste to kill an able bodied worker like him but…"

He fell into silence while he thought about Bezrek's proposal.

"As much as I find your adoration of the human child sweet," he finally said. "I will not indulge you just to prevent a temper tantrum and a possible suicide. However, I have thought it over and I want to check for myself to make sure the Time Lord is truly dead. You are welcome to bring along the child to see the body but if he is alive, I will put him to death myself and leave you to console your new favorite. Now…if you have any objections to that, I suggest keeping them to yourself and readying yourself and your concubine. We'll be transmatting down to the burial chamber in about twenty minutes. That's all I have to say."

Bezrek bowed to him and walked out of the throne room. Apophis watched him go and when he was out of the room, shook his head, muttered to himself about his daft slave's behavior and took a sip of wine.

A half hour later, Bezrek, Rose, Apophis and several guards were standing inside the burial chamber. Bezrek had taken off Rose's collar and had put a huge manacle around her neck with a twenty foot chain that he was holding on to. Rose was barely able to breathe while she watched four of the guards lift the lid off the sarcophagus. When they finally got it off, everyone came forward and Rose rushed past Bezrek to the tomb. She froze and stared down in silent shock when she saw the Doctor. He wasn't moving, his hands at his sides and a peaceful expression on his face. His skin was chalk white and Rose felt her heart skip a beat when he didn't respond to any of them.

"No, it can't be," Rose said, bending over and putting her fingers against the pulse point in her neck.

She paled when she couldn't feel any pulse. Meanwhile, everyone else had gathered around the sarcophagus to see the Doctor.

"Regenerate," Rose said in desperation, shaking the Doctor's shoulder. "Regenerate, damn it! Don't do this to me!"

Apophis smirked as Rose became more and more distraught as she tried to get the Doctor to respond to her.

"It appears Sheltek Na'barak is not as strong as everyone thought," he said. "The Time Lord is as mortal as everyone else."

Rose jerked her head up, fire blazing in her eyes when she looked at him.

"YOU DID THIS TO HIM! YOU KILLED HIM!" she bellowed as she lunged at him.

Apophis laughed when one of the guards struck her across the face with the end of his staff and she fell to the floor in a daze.

"Poor little human, your god is dead," Apophis mocked her as she struggled to get to her feet. "This is excellent news. Guards, take him out of there. Rather than leave him here, I wish to display him in my ship. I want other civilizations to come and view his body and meet the one who finally killed Sheltek Na'barak and rid the universe of his evil presence. As for his disciple," he said, looking at Rose who was gazing on him with utter hatred. "You have a new master now, obey him."

"Kill me," Rose said. "Kill me too because the last thing I want is to live as Bezrek's slave. I'd rather be dead."

"Sorry, that's not my decision, human," Apophis said in a bored tone of voice. "Guards, take the Doctor's body back to the ship."

Rose watched while the four guards reached in and pulled her lover's body out. She waited with baited breath for him to come to life and fight them but her spirits sank when the Doctor did nothing and she felt tears come to her eyes as the realization of what had happened began to hit home. She felt hollow inside and her only thought was to join him in death rather than live as Bezrek's slave. She gritted her teeth when her thought was interrupted by Bezrek rattling on her chain.

"Up, Rose, it's time to go," he said dispassionately.

Rose snapped. She roared with anger as she leapt up and decked Bezrek in the face. He fell backwards to the ground and she pounced on him, seizing him by the throat, screaming her rage at his stunned face as she tried to kill him. Then she let out a grunt and fell unconscious when one of the guards hit her hard in the back of the head with the end of his staff. Apophis snorted when Bezrek gasped for air and pushed her off of him.

"Perhaps the one that needs the lobotomy is Rose," he said to Bezrek. "These humans are unpredictable you know and like any wild animal they must be domesticated if they're going to be kept as a pet. Perhaps you should think that over before the little lion leaps at your throat again."

He turned and followed the guards who were carrying the body of the Doctor. Bezrek glared at Rose as he got to his feet.

"Pull another stunt like that, Rose, and I'll make sure you suffer a fate worse than death," he muttered before he called another guard to carry her for him.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

Rose felt empty inside as she was led back to Bezrek's room. When the transmat beam took them back up to the ship, Apophis ordered his guards to take the Doctor to the laboratory so he could check to make sure he was truly dead. He looked at Bezrek.

"I will have my pilot fly the ship to Sheltek Na'barak's ship and bring that on board as well. It will be displayed with the Time Lord after my scientists have examined it to see if we can use any of its technology."

He walked up to Rose and smirked at her hate filled expression.

"Too bad, human, it seems you followed the wrong man, he wasn't as immortal as you thought."

"He's alive, just you watch, he'll come back somehow and stop you," Rose said.

Apophis hissed out laughter which made Rose even angrier.

"Ah, I love these humans' simple beliefs in things like faith and hope. It's almost childlike and endearing. I intend to check the Time Lord thoroughly, human, before I display him but I have a feeling that this miraculous resurrection won't happen."

"I want to see him," Rose said.

"Perhaps. If you behave, I might let you see him. But for now, you're to go with Bezrek. He'll take care of you now. Bezrek, take her away while I go and check the Time Lord."

"Come on, Rose," Bezrek said, tugging on her chain.

For a moment, Rose thought about decking him again but decided not to risk it. She knew she had to wait and bide her time until Bezrek let his guard down and then she would kill him and either escape the ship in the TARDIS with the Doctor's body or try to take out Apophis and as many of his guards as she could before she was killed. Either way, she swore she'd have her revenge. She glared silently at Apophis before she turned and walked away with Bezrek. Apophis hissed out laughter while he watched her go and then turned and headed for his laboratory.

When he reached the laboratory, he went inside. The guards had taken off the Doctor's loincloth and laid him out on the metal examination table. There was no movement from the Time Lord and Apophis felt a burst of joy, knowing that his adversary was dead. Still, he felt the need to check and be sure so he ordered the guards to bring over a scanner. He used the handheld scanner to scan the Doctor from head to toe and then looked at the tiny monitor. His smiled widened when the reading showed no signs of life.

"He is dead," Apophis said to his guards who hissed in pleasure. "The mighty Sheltek Na'barak has fallen, never to rise again."

He threw back his head and laughed while the guards hissed their joy. He summoned the guards to come closer.

"Clean him off and put perfume on him so the body doesn't smell. Dress him in ceremonial robes and set up a temporary bier for him in my throne room until we can construct a permanent one. We'll let his human lover see him one last time before we begin the embalming process. Let me know when you're finished so I can go and get her."

The guards bowed and Apophis turned and walked out of the room, heading for the control room so he could tell his pilot to retrieve the TARDIS.

After a few hours, the Doctor was lying in state on a funeral bier in Apophis's throne room. He was dressed in a long gold silk robe that had embroidered hieroglyphics of Apophis on each side of the robe above his chest. There was no movement from him and then suddenly, he took a breath as he slowly came out of the deep trance he had put himself into in order to conserve oxygen and prolong his life. He frowned when he noticed light was shining through his eyelids and he opened one eye, then both eyes as he looked around.

"Well, well, seems I've been moved," the Doctor said. "I need to go into trance more often when I'm in a bind. And it seems I've been moved to the mothership. Guess old Pophy didn't want me rotting away when he could display me as a trophy. Jolly good for me and jolly bad for him."

He heard noises outside the door and closed his eyes. He activated his bypass system so he wouldn't need to breathe and stayed still while he listened. The door slid open and his blood boiled when he heard Bezrek saying, "you get fifteen minutes, make them count!" before the door slid closed. Then there was silence except for the hiss of the air conditioning unit but the Doctor could sense someone in the room and he knew who it was without looking. He resisted the urge to open his eyes or move since he wasn't sure yet if she'd come in alone so he kept still while he sensed her moving towards him. She could hear her soft sobbing and he longed to take her in his arms and hold her but for the moment, he still acted like he was dead. Then he felt Rose knell down beside him and put her hand on his right hand. He could hear her breathing and feel it on his face as she leaned over to look at him.

"Ugh, they could have done without the perfume."

The Doctor resisted the urge to smile at that. He had to agree, that was another reason why he turned on his bypass system so he wouldn't have to put up with inhaling the overpowering musky scent they had slathered all over his body. He felt Rose put her other hand on the top of his head and he opened his eyes just a tiny crack. She was crying and his hearts ached when he saw the tears running down her face. She stared at him in silence for a moment before shaking her head.

"Why won't you regenerate? You can't be dead," she sobbed.

The Doctor closed his eyes as she leaned closer and kissed his forehead.

"This is wrong, you're not dead," Rose murmured as she stroked his cheek. "Suffocation will not kill you stone dead."

The Doctor had to fight to keep from smiling at that. His hearts warmed with love when Rose kissed his cheek and laid her cheek against his. His hearts ached when he felt the wetness from her tears against his own skin.

"If you are…d…dead," she choked out. "I promise I'll get revenge on all of them for what they did to you. Especially that bastard, Bezrek. I'll wait till that wanker's asleep and I'll stab him in the throat and throw him to the dogs. They won't get away with this. I'll kill them all or die trying."

The Doctor was touched by that and also a bit amused when the image of Amazon Rose standing over sleeping Bezrek with dagger in hand entered his mind.

"I love you, I'll never love anyone else the way I've loved you," Rose whispered.

Again, the Doctor fought the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her. The urge to tell her he was alive was overpowering and he debated whether to let her know he lived or wait till he was alone and sneak away. He heard Rose let out a harsh laugh and he concentrated on listening to her.

"I s'pose what they said about you brainwashing me is true because I can't stop thinking about killing myself now that you're dead," she said. "That's how much you mean to me and how much a part of my life you were. I can't bear the thought of living as Bezrek's slave and knowing that you're in here, embalmed, like some hunting trophy. I want to be where you are, my love. I want to go to sleep and never wake up."

The Doctor knew he couldn't let Rose leave the room without knowing he was alive since he was scared she would harm herself out of desperation. He didn't want to alarm her by suddenly sitting up so he slowly opened one eye and quickly shook his head when she gasped and was about to say something.

"I knew it," Rose whispered before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I knew it had to be an act. Oh, Doctor, I don't think I've ever been so relieved in my whole life."

Is anyone in here with us? He mouthed to her.

"No, my love, we're alone," Rose said softly, stroking his cheek. "There are guards just outside the door though."

"Then I won't speak very loudly," he said softly. "I just wanted to let you know I was alive because the last thing I want is for you to pull a Romeo and Juliet on me. I want you to pretend I'm still dead because I want to wait till everyone's gone so I can sneak away."

Rose nodded.

"As for revenge, leave that to me," the Doctor said. "I don't want you having blood on your hands; I'll take care of them, yeah?"

Rose nodded.

"How did you fake your death though?" Rose said. "I tried to find your pulse and I couldn't and you weren't breathing…actually, I can't hear you breathing now."

"That's because I'm using my respiratory bypass system. I wanted to be sure we were alone before I revealed myself and any guards standing nearby could have heard me breathing. As for faking my death, I can put myself in a deep trance and slow my hearts down until they're barely beating. I did that to conserve oxygen and give me time to think of a way out. When I came up for air, I realized they brought me back here. Apophis couldn't resist opening up the crypt to check if I was dead?"

"Part of that was me. I begged Bezrek to spare you and told him I'd rather have you be a slave and be alive than be without you. I told Bezrek I would kill myself if you died and I think I scared him enough that he went to Apophis to ask him to check on you."

"Good job Bezrek's smitten with you then," the Doctor said. "Or who knows how long I would have been in that tomb."

"They're bringing the TARDIS on board as well. They're gonna display it next to your body. Apophis wants to use you as a trophy and gloat that he killed you."

The Doctor snorted.

"Sorry to disappoint him but reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," he said while Rose smiled and nodded. "So…he's making it easy for us then. With the TARDIS nearby, we'll have a way to leave without having to leave the ship. All that remains is taking care of them so they don't kill anyone else down below. We have to get them to leave Egypt at the very least so they don't muck with history. Plus, I want to get in on that whole throat slitting scheme of yours, sounds like fun."

Rose chuckled and kissed his lips. She glanced back at the door and sighed.

"S'pose my fifteen minutes are almost up," she said. "I have to go back to Bezrek now."

"Has he done anything to you…besides take your clothes off," the Doctor said, turning his head and gazing at her unclothed breasts. "Blimey, you must really be freezing now. Do you need me to wrap you up again?"

"Yes, I am freezing and wrapping me up sounds good right about now," Rose said. "Oh God, I'm so glad you're alright. You don't know how glad I am to see you."

"I know, that's how extensive my brainwashing is," the Doctor said.

Rose snorted and the Doctor chuckled before he kissed her again. Rose laid her forehead against his for a moment and gave it a kiss before she leaned back up.

"I better go before they come in to get me," Rose said while the Doctor nodded in agreement. "Be careful."

"You too, don't throw yourself off a building before I get out there."

"You're alive now? Not a chance," Rose said.

She gave him one more kiss and ran his finger down his cheek before she stood up. The Doctor watched her walk towards the door and then quickly pretended to be dead when Rose yelled through the door that she was ready to go.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty One

On the way back to Bezrek's room, Rose had to fight not to gloat to her captor that he was going to get his arse kicked very soon by the Doctor. It took everything she had to keep pretending she was in mourning when inside she felt like celebrating. She hoped that she would be present when he did since she was longing to see the smirk wiped off his face. When they reached to room, Bezrek turned to her.

"I hope you were able to say goodbye to him," he said.

"Yes," Rose said, lifting her chin and giving him a defiant look. "But if you think you lot are going to win, you're wrong."

"Oh really? Who's going to stop us?"

"I will."

Bezrek laughed at her and Rose fought to keep her anger in check. Then without warning, he seized her and backed her up against the wall, holding her there with his body while he kissed her lips. Rose kept her lips pressed against her and ran her fingernails hard down his back. Bezrek yelped in pain and Rose grunted when he smacked her across the face, sending her reeling. Then he jerked on the chain until she was on her knees before him. She gasped when he pulled on the chain and jerked her neck.

"He's gone, Rose, you have no one to rescue you anymore, so you might as well stop fighting."

"I won't love you…ever! I'll never love you!"

Bezrek chuckled and seized her chin with his free hand.

"I don't need you to love me. It's enough that I love you," he said while Rose glared at him. "Besides, you don't know the future. Perhaps in time you can learn to love me."

"I seriously doubt that," Rose said.

"You know, master recommended that I give you a lobotomy so you'd behave. Perhaps I should. I don't really want you becoming an idiot but if it means you'll obey me…"

"No, I'll obey," Rose said, feigning fear. "Please don't hurt me."

Bezrek snorted.

"Weak little female, without your master, you're lost," he said, letting out some slack on the chain.

_That's what you think, mate,_ Rose thought to herself. _Just wait till the Doctor gets through with ya._

He jerked on the chain and Rose got to her feet. She stood still and let him fondle her breast for a moment, wishing the Doctor was around to see it since she was sure the enraged Time Lord would wrench his hand off at the wrist and make him eat it. She allowed herself to be led back into his room and stood still while Bezrek switched collars, taking off the collar with the shorter chain and putting back on the one with the twenty foot chain that was attached to the floor. He locked it when the manacle was around her neck and patted her on the head, telling her to be a good girl before leaving the room. She sat back down on her pillow, wondering if the Doctor was up and about now or if he was waiting till everyone was asleep.

_If they do sleep,_ Rose thought.

Her eyes shifted towards the bed and she figured they must sleep if they have beds.

_Unless he just uses it to shag his slaves,_ she thought.

She walked over to the bed, sat down on it for a moment and then lay down on it. She had to admit it was comfy and she got back up, pulled the blanket back and laid down again so she could cover up her nakedness. The blanket was warm and she soon felt sleep from the warmth and before she knew it, she drifted off to sleep.

Then suddenly in the middle of her dream, she was jerked awake and she gasped when she saw Apophis over her, his eyes boring into her while he seized her arms. Behind him, Bezrek was glaring at her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Where is he?" Apophis said to Rose.

"Where is who?" Rose said, playing innocent.

"The Time Lord, where is he?" Apophis said.

"In your room, I expect, where you left…"

She gasped when Apophis slapped her hard across the face.

"You're a poor liar, human; you know that he's alive. Where is he?"

"What? He's alive?"

She gritted her teeth when Apophis shook her and her head snapped back and forth until her neck hurt. Then Apophis got down in her face.

"Where…is…he?" he said.

"I don't know where he is," Rose said. "He was dead when I was in there, honestly."

"Then how did the body disappear?" Apophis said.

"I don't know. Maybe when a Time Lord dies, their bodies evaporate or something. I've been in here the entire time and I've been sleeping. Unless you think my soul's gone out of my body and did something to him."

She gasped when Apophis jerked on her arms and made her sit up.

"Get up, you're coming with us," Apophis said. "Bezrek, unchain her but keep the collar on her."

"Where am I going?" Rose said.

Apophis put his face inches from hers and Rose jerked her head back when his forked tongue darted out and touched her lips.

"You're going to help us by convincing the Doctor to surrender. Now get up."

She gasped when he jerked on her arms again.

"Alright, I'm coming. You don't have to be so rough," Rose said, quickly swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

Bezrek detached the chain from the ring in the floor and Rose stood up, not wanting Apophis to jerk her arms out of her sockets.

"Walk, human," Apophis said, shoving her back.

The Doctor crept along an empty corridor. About a half hour after Rose left, he finally got up from the bier. The TARDIS had been delivered to the room about ten minutes before that and he had gone inside and set his TARDIS defense system so the TARDIS would trap any intruders in a force field prison. Once that was done, he hurried up to his wardrobe room, quickly exchanged the robe for his brown suit and hurriedly dressed. He picked up a spare screwdriver and also a few sleeping gas grenades from his lab, putting them in his pocket before he headed out the door.

So far he hadn't seen anybody but his senses were on high alert as he crept down the corridor. He had been duped by Bezrek and ended up imprisoned and nearly killed and he wasn't going to let it happen again. He reached the end of the corridor and looked into a room that was empty except for a video monitor across the way. The room had three other exits in it, all going out in different directions.

"Blimey, which way do I go?" the Doctor muttered as he stepped into the room. "Eeny meeny miney moe."

He stood there debating on which way to go when suddenly the monitor came on in front of him. He felt his rage boiling up when he saw Rose staring back at him as she knelt on the floor somewhere.

"This is a message to the Doctor," Apophis said from off camera. "We know you're alive."

The Doctor could hear Apophis's voice reverberating through speakers that were mounted in the ceiling, both in the room and in the corridors.

"We know you faked your own death," Apophis said.

"Bravo, thought it'd take you longer to figure that out," the Doctor muttered to himself.

"The TARDIS is still in my throne room so you haven't left so you must be looking for us and for this…especially this, right?"

The Doctor saw Apophis's reptilian hand on camera as it pointed to Rose's head. The hand disappeared.

"I suggest you surrender yourself before something happens to her and if you want to know what lies in store for her if you don't give yourself up…"

The camera panned over to Ammit. He was in a cage about ten feet away from Rose, staring hungrily at her. The Doctor gritted his teeth when the camera panned back to Rose.

"My pet is hungry for hearts and he loves human hearts most of all. If you don't announce your location and make yourself known to us, I will throw Rose in the cage with my pet and let you watch while she gets devoured. You have fifteen minutes before she dies."

"Doctor, no, don't give yourself up," Rose said. "Get in the TARDIS and go!"

The Doctor sighed angrily when he heard Apophis and Bezrek laughing at that. He reached into his trouser pocket, fingered his gas grenades to make sure they were within easy reach and then pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

"Sorry, Rose, I won't leave this ship without you," he said as he adjusted the settings on his screwdriver. "You want to know where I am, very well, I'll give you a beacon."

He raised the screwdriver above his head and turned it on.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty Two

Apophis looked up when he heard his pilot speaking over the intercom.

"My Lord, we're picking up sonic vibrations in corridor A in Block D," the pilot said.

"Is that him?" Apophis said, turning to Rose.

"Yeah, it's his sonic screwdriver," Rose said.

"Pilot, home in on the vibration and use the transmat to bring the Doctor to us," Apophis said.

"As you wish, my Lord," the pilot said.

There was a flash and the Doctor appeared in front of Apophis. He was still holding up his sonic screwdriver and he feigned confusion as he looked around.

"Hey, my sonic screwdriver teleported all of you to me? It's more powerful than I thought," he said, lowering the screwdriver and turning it off. "Oh wait, I'm in Scaly's room, I see now. Blast! For a moment there I thought my screwdriver had been given a super duper upgrade. So…here I am, alive and in the flesh. Now…about letting Rose get some kit on and letting her go."

He sighed when the guards surrounded him with their staffs.

"You know, I hate it when I try to be a good negotiator and negotiate a peace treaty or truce and the other party surrounds me and says kill, kill, kill! I'm gonna lose my negotiator license if I keep mucking up negotiations like this."

"How did you survive?" Apophis said, coming nearer to the circle of guards.

"Um…I'm clever, 'nuff said," the Doctor said with a shrug. "So…about Rose in the altogether."

Rose gasped when one of the guards rammed the Doctor in the stomach with his staff. Another guard put his knee on his back, forcing him to stay on his knees. Two of the guards moved and Apophis moved into the gap, smirking at the Doctor while the Doctor glared at him. The Doctor stayed still while Apophis ran his fingers through his tousled hair. Then he suddenly seized it and pulled his head upward. The Doctor gritted his teeth, fighting the pain while the guard kept his knees on the ground and put his hands on his shoulders keeping his hands on the metal floor.

"I don't like my slaves to have a flippant tongue," Apophis said as he pulled. "You will speak respectfully to your master."

The Doctor gasped when he let go of his hair and his head dropped down.

"This is the great Sheltek Na'barak," Apophis said with a look of contempt. "He's nothing more than a weakling, like the humans who serve him."

The Doctor looked up when Rose was dragged over to him. She fell to her knees and put her hands on the sides of his face.

"Leave him alone, let him up! Get that guard off him!" she said to Apophis.

"No!" the Doctor yelled when Apophis grabbed her hair and pulled.

"I believe I just told all slaves to hold their flippant tongues," he said to her. "You have been around Sheltek Na'barak too long, you've become just as arrogant as him!"

While he was doing that and everyone's attention was focused on Rose, the Doctor very slowly put his hand inside his trouser pocket and withdrew one of the gas grenades. He depressed a button on the top and before anyone could react, he threw it past Apophis. The grenade exploded and gas flooded the room. The Doctor activated his bypass system and got up from the floor when the guard on his back fell over unconscious. He went in the direction; Rose had been in and felt for her through the thick black gas. He found her unconscious body and muttered an apology as he gathered her up in his arms and ran to the door. He set Rose down, used his screwdriver to open the door and picked her back up. He ran out, put her down and closed the door, holding the screwdriver against the keypad until it malfunctioned and locked the door. He looked down at Rose who was still unconscious.

"Forgive me, Rose. I couldn't shield you from the gas but you'll recover in about a half hour," he said, laying his hand against her cheek.

He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder so he'd have his hands free and hurried back to the throne room. While he ran, he reached inside his trouser pocket and pulled out another gas grenade. He kept his thumb on the button while he ran but he didn't encounter any opposition. He opened the throne room door with the screwdriver and went inside. He opened the TARDIS door and took Rose inside. He ordered the TARDIS to move Rose's bedroom to the back door and he went inside when she did. He sat her down on her bed and put the grenade down on her nightstand. He used the screwdriver to unlock the manacle and with disgust he took it off and threw it and the chain in the corner. He asked the TARDIS to give her some proper clothing. There was a flash and Rose was clothed in a pink nightdress and underpants. The Doctor then stood her up and held her while he pulled back her covers. He got her into bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. When he finished, he leaned in close and kissed her lips.

"You're safe now, my love," he said, pulling her hair back away from her face. "They won't get to you in here. I still have to stop Apophis but with you out of the way, I can concentrate on them. I will return soon, I promise. TARDIS, protect her if anyone happens to get in here, keep her safe, whatever it takes."

The TARDIS grunted an affirmative and the Doctor ran his finger down Rose's cheek before he got up from the bed and took the grenade off the table, putting it back in his pocket. He asked the TARDIS to move the lab door to Rose's door and when she did, he took one last loving look at Rose before he turned off her light and closed the door. He went over to a drawer at the back of the lab and opened it. He withdrew a metal headband and studied it as he turned it around in his hand till he got to a small metal box that had a black and red button on it. Then he reached into the drawer and pulled out a metal box that resembled a walkie talkie. The last thing he grabbed was a bottle of smelling salts and an antigravity handle. He then closed the door, put the walkie talkie, bottle and handle in his pocket and asked the TARDIS to move the lab door to the back door of the console room. He then went to the front door of the TARDIS and stepped outside. Locking the door behind him, he headed for the door of the throne room with metal headband in hand. He walked back to the other room and unlocked the door with the screwdriver. He went inside and noticed the gas was nearly gone, making it easy to see his target. He walked over to Apophis and placed the headband around his head, making sure it was tight and secure. He then walked over to Bezrek and snorted when he stood over his unconscious body. He then walked to the intercom, pushed the button and mimicked Apophis's voice, ordering the pilot to transmat himself, Bezrek and Apophis down to the burial chamber inside the great pyramid. His imitation managed to fool the pilot and the Doctor walked back to Bezrek and Apophis and stood with them while the transmat beam surrounded them and took them down to the Great Pyramid.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty Three

Bezrek coughed and opened his eyes. He looked up and saw the Doctor as he pulled the hand holding the smelling salts away from his face. He looked around and panicked when he saw that the Doctor had bound his wrists, ankles, arms and legs with the strips of linen that he had left behind when he cut them off Rose. Even more distressing was he was lying in the stone sarcophagus with the Doctor standing beside it, staring dispassionately at him as he put the stopper back on the bottle and put it in his trouser pocket.

"What is this?" Bezrek asked him.

"This is punishment for your betrayal," the Doctor said in a dispassionate voice. "The time has come for my revenge for what you did to me but especially for what you did to Rose."

Bezrek looked at his face and shuddered when he saw no compassion there. He looked around him at the sarcophagus and back up at the Doctor who was staring down at him calmly.

"You wouldn't," Bezrek said.

"I wouldn't what?" the Doctor replied calmly.

"You wouldn't entomb me alive," Bezrek said, trying to remain calm.

"Why not? You tried to do that to me, now you'll see what it feels like to be in my place."

"You wouldn't do that," Bezrek insisted as panic began to grip his heart.

"Why not? I'm Sheltek Na'barak, am I not? The scourge of the universe? The destroyer of worlds? Why wouldn't I put the lid on this sarcophagus and walk away. That's what you tried to do to me, yeah? And one thing I don't like is backstabbers. I hate betrayal so those are the ones I deal with the most harshly. And…Rose is safe now which means I can concentrate on you and your boss."

"Ap…pophis," Bezrek stammered, his heart beating rapidly when he saw the deadly calm on the Doctor's face.

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out the antigravity handle. It resembles a large metal door handle. He showed it to Bezrek.

"This can clamp onto heavy objects and when I activate the antigravity field within it, I can pick up the object with no trouble. Just in case you're hoping I have no way to put the lid back on.

Bezrek tried to get out of the linen bonds but the Doctor had tied them too tightly. The Doctor bent over, put the handle on top of the lid, switched it on and lifted the lid easily with one hand. He showed the lid to Bezrek who paled at the sight.

"Please, have mercy," Bezrek said as fear sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Why should I?" the Doctor said dispassionately. "You showed no mercy to me or Rose. Why would I show mercy to you?"

"Because you're not like me, Time Lord."

"How do you know? You lot don't know me that well. For all you know, I'm worse than you could possibly imagine. After all, I'm singlehandedly responsible for devastating whole worlds. You don't know what I did to those worlds; I could have eaten the women and children alive while their menfolk watched. I do love a good hunk of raw meat from time to time. Anyway, I have no time to stand here and chat. Goodbye, Bezrek, good luck having your hearts judged in the afterlife."

"No!" Bezrek screamed as the Doctor put the lid over the sarcophagus and lowered it.

Once it was snugly on, the Doctor turned to Apophis. He had also tied him up but he was still unconscious. He pulled out the smelling salts, pulled out the stopper and held it under his nose. Apophis grunted and his eyes opened. He tried to get up and hissed in anger when he saw he was tied up with the linen strips. He looked up at the Doctor who was putting the bottle back in his pocket.

"Free me, slave!" he hissed at the Doctor.

"Funny you should say slave," the Doctor said, pulling out the walkie talkie. "Because that's what you're going to be in a minute or two."

"What have you done to me? Let me go!" Apophis hissed at him.

"Nope, sorry, I can't do that. You're going to listen to me for a change," the Doctor said. "You have noticed the metal headband around your head."

Apophis paused for a moment so he could feel it around his head and then he resumed trying to break free of the bonds. The Doctor smirked when he wasn't successful.

"Finished?" the Doctor said when he stopped struggling.

"What are you going to do?" Apophis said.

"I'm going to enslave your mind and make you command your crew to fly you and your ship to the nearest prison planet. Then I'm leaving with Rose. Rose is safe by the way, in my TARDIS, far from your abuse and since she isn't around to see me or stop me, I can do all sorts of nasty things she wouldn't approve of. You think you've seen Sheltek Na'barak, you have yet to see the true scourge of the universe. I'm capable of far more than you can ever dream."

"You don't have the guts, Time Lord."

"Oh?"

Before Apophis could stop him, he reached down and hit the black button on the headband. Apophis went rigid and his eyes fixed in a dead stare. The Doctor pulled a small knife out of his pocket and cut the linen bonds. Once Apophis was free of them, he lifted the walkie talkie to his lips.

"Arise and stand before me," he said into the speaker.

Apophis woodenly rose and stood before the Doctor, his eyes glazed over and his posture rigid. The Doctor smirked.

"Walk into the wall," he said into the walkie talkie.

He got out of the way as Apophis walked in a straight line to the stone wall and kept on walking even when he was up against it. The Doctor watched while he kept trying to walk through the wall.

"Stop," he said into the walkie talkie.

Apophis stopped walking and stood still, facing the wall.

"Go to the sarcophagus and use the handle to open the lid," the Doctor said into the walkie talkie.

Apophis turned, walked to the tomb and lifted off the lid. The Doctor walked over and looked in at Bezrek who was now completely pale and terrified.

"Set the lid down," the Doctor said into the walkie talkie while Bezrek watched.

Apophis set the lid down and stayed in a hunched position.

"Stand up," the Doctor commanded.

Apophis stood up.

"What are you doing?" Bezrek said.

"I'm the master of your Master now," the Doctor said to him. "I control his mind and I can order him to do anything I want. Watch…" he said as he brought the walkie talkie to his lips. "Pick up Bezrek and hold him in your arms."

Bezrek watched in silent horror as Apophis obeyed, picking him up out of the crypt and holding him in his rigid arms. The Doctor walked around the tomb and stood at Bezrek's head while Apophis stood as still as a statue.

"Now, I can order my new slave to snap your back in two like a twig," the Doctor said to him. "Would you like that?"

"No! Have mercy," Bezrek said. "Have mercy on me, Sheltek Na'barak. Don't kill me."

The Doctor's eyes bored into him and Bezrek swallowed hard at the lack of compassion in his eyes. He trembled when the Doctor raised the walkie talkie to his lips and held it there, waiting to speak to his slave. The Doctor drew out the suspense, enjoying the fear on Bezrek's face. Finally, he spoke.

"Put Bezrek down and order your pilot to take us back up to the ship," he said to Apophis.

Bezrek breathed a sigh of relief when He laid him down on the floor and pulled a communicator out of a pouch suspended on a leather belt around his waist. The Doctor took back his handle and put it in his pocket and came in close to Bezrek while Apophis ordered the pilot to activate the transmat beam in a dull voice. Then a light surrounded them and they were back on the ship in a heartbeat. The Doctor looked around at the guards who were still unconscious and spoke into the walkie talkie.

"You will round up all your guards and Bezrek and lock the away in your prison cells. Then you will fly the ship to the nearest maximum security prison planet and you will surrender yourself and your crew to them after telling them your crimes."

"You won't get away with this," Bezrek said as Apophis moved to obey his master.

"Seems I am getting away with it," the Doctor said, pointing to Apophis who was starting to gather together the unconscious guards in a heap so the transmat beam could take them down to the prison cells. The Doctor watched him for a moment and then reached into his pocket for the remaining gas grenades. He held out three of them as he spoke into the walkie talkie.

"You will use these on your crew if you encounter any resistance," he said.

Apophis stopped what he was doing, took the grenades and put them in his pouch. Then he went back to piling up the guards. The Doctor looked at Bezrek.

"S'pose this is goodbye, Bezzy-boy. Have fun in prison."

"You won't get away with this! We'll find a way to defeat you, Doctor!" Bezrek snarled at him.

"Please, it's Sheltek Na'barak," the Doctor said over his shoulder as he headed to the door. "Do get it right, will you?"

He calmly walked out the door, heading back to his TARDIS while Bezrek screamed curses at him.

(Three weeks later…)

"Ah, sunny California," the Doctor said as he and Rose stepped outside the TARDIS.

Rose looked around at the quaint little suburb they had landed in.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"I believe it's called Hill Valley, beautiful, isn't it?" he said. "Let's take a walk and see what we can find and…"

He trailed off and Rose threw him a questioning look. Then her eyes followed his stunned gaze and they widened in shock when she saw something familiar in a nearby backyard.

"Hey, isn't that the steam engine we saw in Egypt?" she said, pointing to it.

The locomotive was sitting halfway out of a huge cave in a backyard. Across the yard was a two story white wooden house with a porch. Rose was about to say something to the Doctor when he sprinted across the street, leapt a white picket fence that surrounded the property in one huge leap and ran towards the house.

"Oh no," Rose muttered as she ran to the fence, climbed up and over it and pursued the Doctor.

By the time she reached the Doctor, he was repeatedly jabbing his finger on the doorbell and she could hear a ding, dong, ding, dong coming from inside. Then the door opened and a familiar man with wild white hair glared at the Doctor.

"Quit that!" the man said, "What do you want?"

The Doctor stunned the man when he slapped him across the face.

"That's for causing us trouble!" the Doctor said. "Stay away from us in future with that steam engine thing. This is your first and only warning. Now have a good day."

Rose hid her face from the man, blushing a deep fire engine red, as the Doctor calmly turned and walked off the porch, leaving the old man to stare at him in a confused silence.

"Don't mind him, he's insane, completely barking mad. He just got out of the insane asylum yesterday because they couldn't handle him," Rose said to the old man after she lowered her hands. "Have a good day though, and…sorry, about the bitch slap. Won't happen again, promise."

Rose turned and quickly followed the Doctor back across the yard. The man watched them go and when they were over the fence, he shook his head and went back inside.

"Clara," he yelled as he closed the door. "I'm thinking about moving us to Atlantis. The neighborhood is becoming stranger by the minute. What do you think about packing right now and hightailing it out of here before we end up in a loony bin along with the neighbors?"

THE END.


End file.
